Monthly Archive

This month I have been talking about Joy, how Joy shows up in your life.  How are you using Joy to move you out of pain, frustration and sadness? Let’s look at ways you have shared with me the simple ways you have played with JOY.

Rena in Bothell, WA  “I have been struggling with changes in my family.  My father was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and I have been finding it difficult to feel happy or joy, all I feel is sad. This news is not what we expected.  My mother is having a particularly difficult time.  I heard you on the radio talking about joy and decided to give it a try.  I wanted to feel joy bubbling up inside of me, it took me a while, I really wanted to feel better and change how I was looking at the situation.  After a minute or two of focusing on times in my family when we were all together and happy, I really did feel better.  I am going to get my family talking about the good times and see if that does not help.  Thank you.”

Rena, I know what you are going through, my mother was recently diagnosed with uterine cancer and when I heard the news I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.
I recently sat with my mother during her recovery from surgery and looked through old photographs of times when both my mother and I were children it was really fun to take that walk down memory lane.  I know that I always say live in the now, but sometimes it is valuable to remember those really happy times so that you can remember the feelings. Taking that walk down memory lane was a very special time and one that I know lifted our spirits.

Karen in Seattle “I was recently laid off from work and this is a scary time.  I have three children and all of us have become accustomed to living on two incomes.  It is really hard to feel joy when everything around me says it is all falling apart.”

Karen, I hear what you are saying and I tell you, this is the most important time to feel joy!  Have you ever heard the statement “What you focus on you get?”  Well it is true, I know many of us have had times when we are really sad or upset or scared, everything around us seems to be falling apart and then it just keeps on snowballing.  So, how do you feel joy in the midst of chaos?  Change your focus, look at what you do have, a healthy family, a loving husband, beautiful things to surround you, friends.  The trick is to focus on what you are grateful for, the more you focus on gratitude the more you will move out of fear and into joy!

Sometimes we are given challenges in life to help us focus on what is really important, the simple joys of being with those you love and sharing a smile, a cup of tea and remembering the love.

The joys in life are most often those simple little unexpected moments when you can let the worries of the day wash off of you and be present in your life.

Let us all allow space for more joy in our lives!