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Creating and finding joy in life

As of late, I have heard way too many people express concerns about the profound amount of anxiety, stress and depression that they themselves are experiencing as well as with people that they know.

One thing that I believe to be true is that just when we think we have eliminated one source of stress, another comes along.  Sometimes many different stressors are present all at once.  Sometimes we get a bit of a break and we have few stressors to manage.

To be sure, as long as we are alive, we need to find ways to have a relationship with the stress in our life that doesn’t feel so heavy.  We first need to start with the fact that we have some influence and control over some things and we have zero control or influence over others.  Our first task is to discern which is which.

In the midst of this though, perhaps we all need to find ways to create and find joy in our everyday life.  The importance of this seems obvious, but I would suggest that we need to be much more conscious of bringing attention to this every day.

The stress will more often than not be there…it’s called life, but the joy might not be if we don’t look for it and if we don’t create it.

 

Here are 10 suggestions for how to create joy every day: (add to this list)

1.  Look for the joy in mundane everyday tasks.  If you can’t find joy there, then perhaps feel gratitude for the fact that you can participate in your everyday existence.

2.  Smile.  A lot.

3.  Express kindness to people.  This is no small thing.  Receive kindness from others also.

4.  Play.  Create ways to bring play into your life. Have a sense of humor.  Dance.  Cook.  Participate in outside and indoor activities that are fun.

5.  Just look around outside and see the changing of the seasons – the beauty that each season expresses – the trees, the birds, the snowfall on trees in winter, the greenery in the summer, the varieties of birds showing up each season, the buds on trees in spring, the golden fields on the Prairie in the Fall.

6.  Notice when you see people in love and feel the joy.

7.  Notice when you see someone you love feeling a sense of pride in an accomplishment of theirs and feel the joy.

8.  Feel joy when you accomplish something difficult.

9.  Do something creative even if you’re not super good at it – revel in the joy of just doing it.

10. Do something for another person that brings them happiness.

 

Peace.