These days we're living through - they are a lot. Every morning brings fresh heartbreak from somewhere in the world, another injustice, another reason to feel overwhelmed by it all. The weight of it all, soul-crushing.
I won't pretend to be unaffected, choosing not to look away from the heavy - but instead to acknowledge it. Embrace it. Knowing that the feelings I, and so many of us are feeling, are real and valid and important and need to be felt.
But here's something that I've been thinking about lately, especially as we’re away from home soaking up the end of summer break: in the midst of all this chaos, joy still exists. Not fake, forced, toxic positivity kind of joy, but instead the beautifully quiet, resiliently strong, super simple kind that finds us in the smallest moments.
What if we made it our daily practice to seek it out?
Start small. Notice the way golden hour light hits your kitchen wall just right. Savor that first bite of a perfect summer tomato, morning coffee, vanilla ice cream. Stop and really listen to a favorite song, your child’s laughter, the breeze through the trees. Hold the door for someone, wave at your neighbor, text a friend just to check in. Take that walk. Watch that sunset. Let yourself fully receive these moments.
Here's my challenge to you (and to myself): What's one small thing you can do today to create or notice joy?
Maybe it's stepping outside for five minutes of fresh air. Maybe it's calling someone who makes you feel seen. Maybe it's buying flowers for your kitchen table or dancing awkwardly to one song that makes you feel alive.
These moments don't erase the hard thing. They won’t make the world's problems disappear. But they can and do build something powerful in us - resilience, hope, the strength to keep going and keep caring.
Because here's what I believe: choosing joy isn't about pretending everything is fine. It's deciding that despite everything that's wrong, we're still going to actively seek what's right. We're still going to create connection, make beauty, show kindness.
Joy - the real kind - is an act of defiance against despair. It's saying that no matter how dark things get, we refuse to let the darkness be the only story we tell. Maybe this is exactly what we need right now - gentle reminders that goodness still exists, that we're not powerless in the storm. These brief encounters with joy might be precisely what our souls need to keep doing the hard work of staying human, staying connected, staying hopeful.
So today, right now, I'm choosing to notice the light. Will you join me? What's one small joy you can choose today?
Love this Jill xx
Well put. Thanks for this.