A Little Bit Of Joy

It’s a beautiful morning here, the sun is shining through the clouds, the water is calm and the street is still. No one is about. It feels almost post apocalyptic.

Sunday mornings are so quiet here, you could hear a pin drop. I really enjoy it when I am up early pottering about the house myself and can enjoy the peace and quiet of the inside and outside before the rest of the neighbourhood stirs and the noises of the day begin.

Today I want to reflect on these small moments, that bring joy into our lives.

I never used to like getting up in the morning, and to some extent when the alarm goes off on a Monday morning, I still don’t. Getting up represents having to get on with the day and move forward. Whereas being cosy and snuggled up warm in bed, means you are still in your own world and life that day hasn’t begun and won’t until you step one foot then another out of the bed.

But the prize for being up early, particularly at the weekend, allows you to notice the world around you before people interrupt it. Looking out of your window and appreciating the uninterrupted view or the silence in your street when all is still. The reset of the world before the button is pressed and the real day begins.

In that moment you get some extra quiet time to do the small things, like read a newspaper, book or magazine or look out of the window and watch the birds as you enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. These are the moments we perhaps don’t think about that bring us daily joy.

What other moments can you think of that bring you a little bit of joy in an otherwise full on day?

Maybe you enjoy the moment of silence before the kids awaken, the dog starts barking and the kettle boils. You take a few deep breaths and this allows you to be ready for the day to come.

Our lives are full on and fast. We don’t stop or slow down often. We feel we need a reason too and it has to be a good one. Why? You are the reason to slow down. You are the reason to take a moment to enjoy. Yet we don’t, we feel guilty for doing so as we should be doing something else. But with enjoyment there should be no guilt attached.

Your life is as important as anyone else’s. Take a moment today, just now and look around you. What small thing can you see or that has happened today to give you joy? You may not even realise it did, until you think about it. What about hugging your pet? Or noticing the snowdrops or daffodils in your garden, the small green shoots appearing as spring is almost upon us. It may even been the sun shining, you step outside and look up and feel it’s warmth on your face. Maybe you used a new beauty product today and the smell was heavenly and you knew you were going to enjoy using it.

Joy doesn’t have to be something spectacular, like the feeling you get when you complete a marathon or getting out of the water after wild swimming. It can be sitting on your doorstep, having a cup of tea as you watch the world go by.

We forget how to enjoy the small things, and feel the joy in those moments.

Take a pen for example. If you bought it new or it was a freebie and you use it each day until it runs out of ink mid sentence, you may be annoyed your sentence isn’t complete, however, think of all you have written with it, how long you have used it for and the joy you have had in your writing. Joy can be that simple.

As you go about your day, think about what is sparking joy for you, no matter how big or small. Each day you will have those moments and not realise the joy felt.

Feel it.

Really notice what makes you smile and puts joy in your heart.

We don’t always appreciate these small things. Sometimes it takes us to slow down and pay attention, but the small things are integral to our daily lives, we just forget to notice them.

Have a great week and feel the joy. Notice.

Take care and look after you.

Love Emma xx