Joy Lessons

You deserve to thrive, not just survive.

No one can sustain a joyful state. Bad days are just part of being human. Yesterday was packed with challenges, and my pulse zoomed, fast and irregular, like a squirrel racing across piano keys. I wasn’t sure if I could get centered.

I reminded myself that negative emotions, events, and people can be countered if I made a conscious effort to find sweetness in the world around me. And sweetness, as we all know, is a gateway. I played with my dogs, baked a lemon cake, and pulled weeds. Finally, I reached for my journal. Inside this worn, spiral notebook, I documented moments that blessed my daily life.

I find other ways to journal. I look forward to my Instagram feed, because it’s filled with moments from friends’ lives–from dew on a flower to a yawning cat to a sunset. Social media can motivate us to get off the sofa and go on a joy hunt with our cameras.

It’s a fact (and understatement) that life is unpredictable. We can start the day with good cheer, but we might bump heads with a difficult person. If we are very, very lucky, if the day is full of grace, we can still get pulled down a rabbit hole. A fight, harsh words, hurt feelings–all of these things can derail our best intentions. For me, journaling is a way to achieve a balance between darkness and light. I’m able to work through my frustrations with a bumpy heart rhythm, one that forces me to sit down, or to list my ideas for the butterfly garden. My little books overflow with sketches, paintings, and scarlet maple leaves. After I’m gone, I’m sure my family will scratch their heads, wondering why I bothered to save feathers and withered lily of the valley blossoms. But they’ll know I had a grand time.

Not every journal entry requires you to be a certified naturalist. It’s your book. You get to shape its content. I have kept a journal since 1978, and each page helped me take a brave step forward. I wrote about angst, for sure, but I also charted growth, problem solving, and epiphanies. The New York Times claims that “writing in a journal can lead to better sleep, a stronger immune system, more self-confidence and a higher I.Q.”
If you need more evidence, a quick Google search will supply many hours of research.

In the unknowable future, hurdles may very well lay ahead, but I believe that grace and joy wait for us, too. I can see evidence of change in my raggedy notebook. Here, I can chart breakdowns and breakthroughs. I see itty bitty miracles.

Today’s lesson: I will find a moment of grace and write about it.

Joy Note: Keep a Daily Journal

Buy a notebook. It can be simple or fancy, with unlined pages and pouches to stash your pens. Add drawings of birds or wildflowers. Jot down recipes or favorite quotes. Don’t worry about punctuation. Above all, do not judge your observations. You are chronicling the days of your life, all of the heart-stumbling moments, life-affirming discoveries, and whispered prayers. You are creating a record of ordinary miracles, those tiny blessings we can always find in our backyards or kitchens. I look for mushrooms, birds’ nests, cloud formations. and pretty weeds. The important part is to develop a daily writing habit. Remember to be patient with yourself. At some point, words become as necessary as air.