Joy is one of the most essential positive emotions.  Often it is used interchangeably with happy, but joy is a deeper and more profound state of nature than being happy.  Joy is defined as  a feeling bright and light.  Colours seem more vivid.  There’s a spring in your step.  You feel playful.*

Isn’t  joy wonderful?!  Yes, but do we actually pause and allow ourselves to enjoy and experience it enough?  Or do we just go on to the next item on our agenda without a moment to savour it?

Most of the joy I experience daily is in small doses of pleasure and wonderful surprises.  When I have a short burst of joy, I like to reflect on how fortunate I am for that minor good fortune.  This mindfulness automatically makes me pause and count that blessing.  And that awareness opens me to more instances in the day where things go my way.  My threshold for joy is rather small, like when I get a green light or a glimpse of a well-cared for garden, so I savour it.  The more I am prepared to find joy in daily and often trivial activities, the more happiness and wellness I encounter.   I find that the trick is to allow for joy, being watchful for joyful moments.  The more mini-joys you savour, the more you open yourself to larger moments of joyfulness. Being joyful is intentional: it involves  looking for glimmers of promise or surprise.  The savouring aspect of joy is the biggest reward. 

Being joyful is also non-judgemental or comparative.  Judging or measuring our joy against some standard or expectation is counter-productive and diminishes our pleasure. It can rob you of joy altogether, leaving you forever unsatisfied with your lot.  As the Smaller Cup idea suggests, the relatively fuller our cup of life is, the more joy we will experience, as we are more easily satisfied.  Letting go of judgement and comparison materially enhances our joy.

Physically distance (when required or helpful), never socially distance.

Reflection Source: www.Smallercup.org

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*: Positivity by Barbara Frederickson