I am on an active search for
Joy.
Last week on my bike ride through the hillsriding in the cool crisp air my legs working hard and strongI felt like I was flying through nature.
And it came to me
slowly at firstdeep in my heartin the most physical of feelings.
I felt true joy.
I felt it in the same deep physical part of my heartthat recentlyI have felt grief.
Yesit was true griefas my nest had finally emptied.
My heart hurt so bad
I often wished I could simply
take it out of my chest
just for a momentary reprieve from the pain.
I know many people have mixed reactions when I speak of my grief over an empty nest. But for me it was my true emotion.
So last week when joy
came in just as strong
into my heartit was a profound moment for me.
A moment when all the beauty of my life rushed inalmost overwhelming in it's intensity.
I savored this beautiful emotion.
Making a point of pushing it deep into my heart and soulnever to forget the feeling.
There is a lightness in my heart even this weekjust pulling up the moments in my memory.
I have realized the importance of finding Joyin our daily life
With more joy in my heartI can find more beauty in lifeand in others.It feels like a different magnetic pull.An energy that picks up beauty and good.
I have spent so much of my lifedefining myself by my accomplishmentsorlack there of.
But this joy felt pureand
real.
And I want to learn to grow itTo find ways to tap into it.
To be able to cultivate joy
as a protective force
in the management of the challenges of real life.
Cultivating joy doesn't even have to be done in big
first class ways.But just as effectively in small ways.
The sheer beauty of a single flower.
A quiet cup of coffee.
An organized room.Savoring a sunrise or sunset
Moving in naturewhether riding, walking, ocean kayaking or surfing.is always for me a connectionto a higher power.
I want to cultivate joy in my lifeso I can pull it upon darker days.
I want to cultivate more joy in my heartso I have less room for focusing on the sad things in my life
Things or situationsthat I can neither
change or control.
I want to learn to to find solace and joyeven in life's storms.
For me true joyfeels like a solemn prayera connection to all that is good.
The higher power.
A lightness of being.
I will be adding
cultivating joy
to my daily ritual
of gratitude.
Taking the time to reframe my life
in the morning
is the surest way
to live my day in beauty and joy.
For me
cultivating
Joy
will need to be a learned skill
that I remember
to incorporate into my daily life.
A protective force
to help manage my day to day
in gratitude and beauty.
As always my friends
I wish you love and joy
as you style your life.
