It’s a new day of a new month of a new year and I find myself contemplating a piece of wisdom a very dear friend offered in response to one of my recent musings, find joy in the simple things. Her approach really helps when you’re struggling mightily to hold on to hope in the midst of deep and serious challenges. It’s often my next step after reminding myself of my purpose and values, and then stepping out into the unscripted side of my day, to go find a little joy.

How do you start? Maybe just by looking around you. As I finished getting ready for the day and opened the bedroom blinds I was blessed by brilliant sunshine that created a warm glow in the leafless forest right outside my window. This, sunshine on a Michigan winter day, in an area of the country where we only get 47% of the available sunlight annually, was a welcome surprise! I instantly felt happy and contented, and stood there appreciating the forest, the birds, and the squirrels, as I hoped for a fox, deer, or wild turkey sighting. Hoped. And there it was, hope was back in a small way.

How do you continue? Choose to spend time with family, choose a random activity you often enjoy, reminisce about some of life’s perfect moments you’ve experienced over the past year, phone a friend, step out and take a walk, yes, even on a chilly winter day. I’m spending this New Year’s Day with my kids and grandkids, writing, watching the Rose Parade and maybe the football game, building a frustratingly complex puzzle, enjoying a taco buffet dinner, and maybe catching the last of the Christmas Music and Movies of the season. As my friend says, find joy in these simple things. And as you continue looking for joy your attitude begins to shift, despair starts to melt away, hope builds, and once again you’re walking away from the weight of life’s challenges, and walking toward new adventures. At least that seems to be what’s happening for me in this season of my life.

I started wondering, too, about the difference between happiness and joy. Is there a difference, like some people profess? Or are happiness and joy all the same thing? I wonder if maybe happiness is a short term situational feeling, and joy is more a way of life. Is it possible to live life joyfully, life with all of its struggles and challenges, while experiencing less than happy situations? We have a plaque at our back door with a bicycle surrounded by a phrase that says, “Life is for Joyriding”. I read it every time I leave the house and think to myself, joy is a way of life, happiness is a moment in my life. Yes, there is a difference, at least for me!

I’m not one for new year’s resolutions, but as I’m contemplating joy this new day of this new month of this new year, and thinking about fresh starts, maybe I can make just one resolution for 2024:

Building toward a joy-filled life … Pops