choose joy

choose joy

In the morningremind yourselfto choose joy nownot the cheap kindmade with breathlessexclamationsbut the hard wonjoy, the kind youreach down deep andpull hard to getor maybe it’swhat happens whenyou stop tryingto impresis usand admit whatmakes you mad orhas you...
Take a joy break

Take a joy break

“Take a joy break this afternoon,” I advised participants in a morning creative journaling class. I said it without thinking, hoping to lighten the mood after an intense session. “What a great topic for a future class,” someone suggested. I’ve had a lovely time this...
Feeling my way toward whimsy

Feeling my way toward whimsy

This month I am contemplating whimsical reinvention. When life gets difficult, one option is making different choices with a light heart. It’s the lightness that’s the challenge. I recently searched the web for “how to add whimsy to your life.” Results were fun to...
Joy amidst illness and disability

Joy amidst illness and disability

When you are ill, especially with a serious diagnosis, it’s easy to have the sensations and the emotional fallout of it take over your life. You become the illness or the pain. Dealing with it hijacks all your energy. When it feels like that, you may have no other...
practicing joy – the delight of the day

practicing joy – the delight of the day

To help each kind promise settle into my bones, I want to make a practice of it. What can I do on a daily basis to keep the promise alive in my life? This month’s promise is “I will live with joy for no apparent reason.” This calls me to find joy in each moment,...
Six ways to invite joy into your life

Six ways to invite joy into your life

You cannot force joy into your life. Yoga therapist Amy Wheeler says you can only “enter a receptive, awe-filled state in case joy decides to visit you.” She teaches that happiness is dependent on external factors and com six es and goes as circumstances change. Joy...