Joy
Have you ever made a list of the things that bring you joy? That make you feel good? Or the things you want right now to happen in your life?
I recently did this and came up with a list of about twelve things, everything from very difficult things that will take time and help from others to work through, and little things that will take discipline, and other things that just take me carving out time.
Hobbies, weaknesses, struggles, health issues, habits. What you want to accomplish, and how you want to show up in life. What is important to you? Priorities for the day, the month or the year, or life.
And example of something that really compromises my day-to-day joy is my hip and wrist pain. Today I am calling a physical therapist. The alternative is to go through my life without having full mobility or living with pain. I know this sounds so obvious but have you ever found some of the most easiest things to change are the ones we procrastinate the most? Maybe it’s that we get used to living a certain way or that other things flood in, and sometimes those things make us drown in day-to-day management of them instead of solutions.
Another example is that I really manage my household work better because it makes me feel calmer to have a system and schedule in place for both cleaning inside and maintenance and yard work outside. I’m experimenting with something now to see if it works.
I want to read more, and be on my phone less.
I love baking and gardening and reading-how can I fit more of this into my life?
There are also big changes that bring me so much anxiety, financially and emotionally-a lot of those things are constantly changing and so those things will take time. Meanwhile, what can I do now to feel some sense of control?
It is all a worthy exercise and really only took about thirty minutes of contemplation to do.
My job now is to break each of those “wants” down into little steps so I can make progress. I am keeping it in my bedside table so I can remind myself of the direction I want to move in.
Always so inspiring, Sarah.
Have a cozy afternoon!
What a beautiful idea. I think it was you who suggested that we write down what makes us feel like a good mom at the end of the day. I took this advice years ago and it really guided my motherhood while my kids were young. I think I'll try it again now that they are all school-aged. And I'll try your joy list too. ❤️
In our lives I think only God and time changes our lives. I love Psalm 91, and it helps me a lot. As for everyday we always must remind ourselves and walk into the sunlight and remember the rainbows that come after the gentle rains. I saw this and I'll pass it on. Little things help us all. "We've gotta start romanticising our lives. Believing that that commute in the morning is a real adventure for the little things we notice in it. That every cup of coffee is the best. That even the smallest and most mundane things are exciting and new. We have to because that's when we truly start living, and we look forward to everyday" I like that. Time helps us to relax more and relax and it's easier then. But mostly God is our great refuge in times of trouble! I live by that everyday now.