Find your Joy

 I think Joy is something we don't seek out enough as adults.  We are so caught up in responsibility in our social roles and with the daily grind that we loose track of the things that really make our heart sing.  We put pleasure last, and duty first, and while that seems right on paper, it can leave us depleted and hollow feeling.

Part of self-care is balancing all the things you need for life, and I absolutely feel joy needs to be on that list.  We need to have things that delight us to balance out all the hard stuff we have to do.  Joy fills our tanks in a way that other things don't.  Joy gives us motivation to do the hard stuff (so that we have time to do the things that bring us joy).

But we can't wait around until we have free time to seek our Joy, we have to carve time out for it.  Litha is a perfect time to not only consider what brings us joy but also to schedule time for it.  At this time of year, we are called to remember those bright days of endless summer, when school is out and our days are our own again.

Finding Joy may take some work.  We are conditioned to think that things that are joyful are worthless or trivial.  Sometimes, we find joy in activities that aren't deemed appropriate for adults (whatever that means).  But true joy shouldn't be qualified, and if something makes your heart sing, you should acknowledge it without shame!

There are a ton of things that bring me joy that many other adults don't understand (but plenty of others share my joy).  I love video games, RPG's, trashy romance novels, coloring, making stuff with my hands, playing with cats and just laying around daydreaming.  

The thing about joy is it doesn't always take a long time to tap into.  And a few moments of really leaning into that joyful activity can give you a boost that will make the rest of your day much more productive.  When we don't have joy in our lives, we tend to go through the motions of activities we participate in, and that isn't nearly as effective as when we give it our all.

I think one of the key steps to finding your joy is to first toss out all the judgements you have about an activity.  Every snide comment you've ever heard, every distasteful look, every secret shame you've felt.  Focus instead on what makes you happy.  Think back and remember times where you just had fun, where all your worries seemed to disappear.  You may have to think back to childhood, and that's perfectly okay!

You may also find that the things that bring you joy change over your lifetime.  Some things that you loved as a child might still bring you joy but others might not seem as shiny now.  That's natural, and it's also true that things you might not have liked when you were younger are a delight to you now.

If you are stuck while thinking about things that bring you joy, try thinking about other people.  What have you seen other people doing that looked interesting.  This could be real people (friends, family, coworkers), or it could be fictional people (people in movies, books or shows).  

Joy doesn't also have to be based on first hand experience.  Sometimes we enjoy things we can't do (or can't do right now), but experiencing them second hand still brings us joy.  I might not be able to fly, but reading about someone flying can be delightful (not watching so much for me...motion sickness and all, but reading about it lets me experience it vicariously without any of the negative side effects).

So, whether you celebrate Litha or not, it's definitely worth spending some time seeking out things that bring more joy to your life.  Create a list of things that you find enjoyable, and when you are feeling worn out or frustrated, consult your list and find something on it you can do for a bit.  You may just find that regular infusions of joy can really shift your perspective and help brighten up your days!