Let’s Celebrate! How to Bring More Joy into Every Day
July is my birthday month. My birthday is a time of reflection, connection, and JOY! I love my birthday in the summer as I am in a happy place, Wellfleet in Cape Cod. And that place is special to me, it represents family, friends, amazing nature, gratitude, creativity and peace.
My birthday is a wonderful time and reason to celebrate (yours is too!), but we don’t need a special event to celebrate. We can find and create joy every day.
Create Your Ideal Day
Set yourself up for more joy. Create an amazing day for yourself. Think about where you want to go, who you want to be with, what you want to eat, what you want to do. Think too about what you don’t want to do. How do you want to feel? (Use this process to create an ideal day.)
Then, and this part is important, let go of expectations. When you are too attached to how things unfold, you can often be disappointed. Maybe your outdoor dinner has to get moved indoors because of rain. That could ruin the celebration or bring people together in different ways.
You can also create a ritual for your celebration. A ritual can be simple and repeatable, so you spend less time figuring out what to do and how to do it. That makes more room for joy.
Look for Moments of Joy
Joy doesn’t have to be planned. When you get in the habit of noticing and celebrating good things, you fill your days with bits of micro (or not so micro) joy.
Some things that have brought me joy recently:
- Watching our dog Murphy frolic on the beach
- Seeing my kids
- Swimming in the pond with a friend
- Reconnecting with a friend I haven’t talked to in a while
- A long walk with my husband, Chip
- The summer flowers in bloom — so much color
- Birthday blueberry muffins with strong coffee.
That first one brings me joy every time, even if I don’t feel like going for a walk when we start. If you struggle with joy can someone (or something) help you find it? Do you have a pet whose playfulness and delight is contagious? Do you have a friend who just seems to be joyful all the time? Can you spend more time with them or soak up the joy when you do?
Embrace Joy in Your Life
Mary Oliver said, “If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it…. Joy is not made to be a crumb.”
I encourage you to give in to and embrace joy — on your birthday and every day. It’s easy to be cynical in the world today, to think of all the things that are wrong. But joy is part of resistance and resilience.
If you know things that bring you joy, by all means add that to your life. It could be as simple as sipping your coffee outside before you dive into your day, or having fresh flowers on the table, or reading just for pleasure, or picking one treat every time you go to the farmer’s market.
You could make a point (set a reminder if you need to) to connect with a friend every week. Schedule a walk in nature. Take the scenic route home.
And when joy shows up, welcome it, savor it, hold on to it. Be open to joy, create joy. I’d love to hear how you are experiencing joy. And even, how joy can help you thrive in both good times and even (or especially) hard times.
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Hi, I’m Melanie!
I’m a Journaling and Joy Coach and I believe your story is the key to the life you want.
I guide my clients through intentional processes to find the answers waiting for you in your stories, bringing compassion, deep listening — and fun — to the process.
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