Hmmm, I know this must seem like an odd post since all my others have been food or tea related but, well I have been thinking alot about joy lately and I need to write about it.
What is it in your life that brings you joy? How is real happiness achieved and why do some people experience it at a higher level than others? Well all through my life I have experienced extreme joy, yes, I am so lucky because I can honestly say that even through some of the most difficult times in my life, I have still felt joy. How is this possible? Well, I believe that joy is something that you can choose to experience, it is something that is deep within our soul and if only we allow it to flow freely will we ever know it fully. Sounds odd, I know, but lately I have been experiencing these "waves of joy", all of a sudden I get a feeling of overwhelming joy, and know that my life is good. I have started thinking about how this happens and why. I have experienced them while working with the afterschool children in the afternoon and feel overwhelmed by the happiness they bring me and how blessed I am to have them in my life, I have experienced them while playing with my own children and knowing that I am the luckiest girl on the planet to be blessed with the most amazing kids, I have experienced them while out with good friends and feeling a sense of friendship and closeness and excitement about having fun, I have experienced them in knowing I am looking forward to a visit from someone special. I wondered if it had something to do with all these "superfoods" that I am taking in, maybe I am experiencing a "rush", then I thought a little deeper and realized that it is about thankfulness. I believe that those who wake up in the morning and feel truly thankful that the day ahead will bring them an abundance of joy, actually go on through the day to experience that joy, it is true, I live that every day.
Now all that being said, what can you feel joyful about in an ordinary day? My answer to that is, there is no such thing as an ordinary day, every day brings wonder and surprises if you are open enough to recognize them, like when you see the way the that freshly fallen snow sits on the branches of the trees and looks just beautiful, the way my daughter signs I LOve You on her way to school out in front of my house, the satisfaction of hard work and a job well done, of doing something kind for someone and seeing how it has brought joy into their lives, of sharing a conversation with a friend or a good laugh, joy is all around us.
How many of you have experienced a "wave of joy or happiness"? It is the most amazing feeling I have ever experienced, it reminds me of *butterflies*, I don't mean the beautiful insects that emerge from a cocoon, I mean the butterflies you feel in your stomach when something really exciting happens. Most of us experience *butterflies* when we are teenagers and get excited about a person of the oppostite sex. It lead me to believe that *butterflies* had something to do with hormones, well how many people get to experience *butterflies* all throughout their life even when the day to day is somewhat the same, when there are no really exciting surprises awaiting us? I think it works the same way as the joy. You have to open up and look for the things in the ordinary that can be exciting. I think that *butterflies* have something to do with the people in our lives that excite us, that stimulate us, that make us happy, it is about relationships, about people. I don't think that some "thing" can give you *butterflies*, only some"one". I can get butterflies while watching Kyle skateboard, I feel them when watching my children sleep safely in their beds (not so much when they are crowding my bed LOL), I feel them when I am anticipating a visit from someone special, watching and listening to live music, when I see my daughter dressed up for a dance with this amazing smile on her face, when my six year old tells me that he loves me to the moon and back, everyday..forever! I would not trade those moments for anything, it makes me feel ALIVE!
Todays mission: Figure out what brings you joy, what gives you *butterflies* and open up to that joy and never let it go!
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Joy isn't something others give to you rather you find it deep within yourself. The greatest gift we can experience is finding that joy even among the most difficult of times. It's good to see you have found yours and it is key part of your life and happiness.
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