Nothing has been a greater gift to me than three lessons I learned about joy.
I still get overwhelmed in the midst of joyful experiences.
1. Joy comes to us in moments--ordinary moment. We risk missing out on joy when we get too busy chasing down extraordinary.
Scarcity culture may keep us afraid of living small, ordinary lives, but when you talk to people who have survived great losses, it is clear that joy is not a constant. What people miss the most when losses occur are the ordinary moments, "If I could come downstairs one more time and see my husband sitting at that table reading the newspaper" or "If I could hear my son giggling in the backyard."
2. Be grateful for what you have.
When asking people who have survived tragedy how we can cultivate and show more compassion for people who are suffering, the answer was always the same. Don't shrink away from the joy of your child because I have lost mine.
Don't take what you have for granted--celebrate it.
Don't apologize for what you have.
Be grateful for it and share your gratitude with others.
When you honor what you have, you are honoring what I have lost.
3. Don't squander joy.
We cannot prepare for tragedy and loss.
When we turn every opportunity to feel joy into a test drive for despair, we actually diminish our resilience. Yes, softening into joy is uncomfortable.
Yes, it is scary.
Yes, it is vulnerable.
But every time we allow ourselves to lean into joy, and give in to those moments, we build resilience and we cultivate hope. The joy becomes par of who we are, and when bad things happen--and they happen--we are stronger.
Brene Brown - Daring Greatly
I still get overwhelmed in the midst of joyful experiences.
1. Joy comes to us in moments--ordinary moment. We risk missing out on joy when we get too busy chasing down extraordinary.
Scarcity culture may keep us afraid of living small, ordinary lives, but when you talk to people who have survived great losses, it is clear that joy is not a constant. What people miss the most when losses occur are the ordinary moments, "If I could come downstairs one more time and see my husband sitting at that table reading the newspaper" or "If I could hear my son giggling in the backyard."
2. Be grateful for what you have.
When asking people who have survived tragedy how we can cultivate and show more compassion for people who are suffering, the answer was always the same. Don't shrink away from the joy of your child because I have lost mine.
Don't take what you have for granted--celebrate it.
Don't apologize for what you have.
Be grateful for it and share your gratitude with others.
When you honor what you have, you are honoring what I have lost.
3. Don't squander joy.
We cannot prepare for tragedy and loss.
When we turn every opportunity to feel joy into a test drive for despair, we actually diminish our resilience. Yes, softening into joy is uncomfortable.
Yes, it is scary.
Yes, it is vulnerable.
But every time we allow ourselves to lean into joy, and give in to those moments, we build resilience and we cultivate hope. The joy becomes par of who we are, and when bad things happen--and they happen--we are stronger.
Brene Brown - Daring Greatly
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