SOLD: Beautiful Happyzine

I’ve been feeling challenged this last month and I know many others have too. I’ve been missing my joy. You know how sometimes you don’t really appreciate something (or someone) until it’s/they’re gone. Joy is one of those magic ingredients that can light up even the dullest day and make life worthwhile. It comes unbidden, for a moment, or a half hour, or longer. It’s like an inner light: warm, alive, dancing, glowing. And when joy
disappears life feels pretty flat and empty. It’s all still going on but there’s a strange sense of separation or disconnection. Without joy I feel like a stranger to myself. I know this too will pass, it’s just another part of the process, but hey, I want my joy back!

So the other day I was talking to a buddy on the other side of the world, in Ireland, via Skype – isn’t that something to have a friend suddenly appear right here in your room, speaking through this little black box, and all for free; it delights me every time! And she’d been feeling flat too, so I said, “Why don’t we do an experiment for a week? Let’s intentionally do one thing each day to bring us joy?” And she said, “Ok, that sounds good.”
And then I hopped onto another Skype call with my best friend, Woods in Virginia, USA, and I said, “Hey Woods, do you want to do an experiment for a week and choose to do one thing each day to bring you joy?” And he said, “Ok, Yes, Great!”

And so the Joy Experiment was born! And I invite you to join us. The thing I love about experiments is there’s no right or wrong, no success or failure, it’s all about noticing what happens, becoming more aware.

The first day brought me a great insight. We’re having the most beautiful summer here in New Zealand and what I really wanted to do was go string a hammock between some trees and sway beneath the dancing leaves and dappled sunshine, dreaming and watching the clouds float by. But I couldn’t find the right spot outside so I lay down on the bed and read a novel. It was pretty cool to have the luxury of getting lost in a novel in the middle of the
day but it didn’t bring me joy, in fact it increased my flat feeling. I remembered that when I was a kid I would go find a quiet spot and read for hours to comfort myself and keep myself feeling safe in my unpredictable family. And I realized that the joy I’m after doesn’t come from staying safe in the comfort zone, it comes when I stretch myself just a little beyond habitual comforts. And that gave me the joy of discovery!

So, Day 2, another beautiful summer’s day dawned and this whole day was an explosion of one joy after another. In the afternoon I decided to go to the beach. I’ve been a water baby all my life, love being in water: the sea, the river, a soak in the hot tub, it’s something to do with feeling immersed in nature and the calming energy of water. But this year I’ve barely been in the water at all, I’ve become more focused on the obstacles – don’t want to
get changed, wet, cold, sandy. So here’s another revelation: focus on the obstacles and we miss the joy. So, I chose to go swimming and it was of course wonderful, as it always is, so healing being in the salty sea with the sunlight dancing on the turquoise water and the mountains on the other side of the bay, under the big blue sky. How blessed I am! Joy is a state where we start to wonder how we ever could have complained or seen life as less
than perfect. Just that simple act of intention, choice, moving slightly out of my comfort zone, changed everything. It was as if joy had been a closed door and I couldn’t even see the doorway, now suddenly the door was wide open and joy was streaming in and through me.

What a wonderful feeling! Fully alive again, part of it all, zingy, bubbly, excited, life is good, expect the best. The good fairy just flew in with a feather duster, making everything shiny and new, showering gifts of grace.

Funny, isn’t it? Nothing had actually changed in the world but I was seeing it differently.  Something had shifted and opened in me. Joy is our natural state; it’s there all the time, like the sun. Only sometimes we can’t see it or feel its warmth. Experiencing more joy requires both intention and surrender. Yes, it comes unbidden, as a gift of grace. And yes, we can choose it and cultivate it, share it and spread it.

Join me for the Joy Experiment on facebook: www.facebook.com/rose.diamond7

Rose Diamond.

Tags: Joy