JOY, a feeling of great pleasure or happiness.
How many of you feel this on a regular basis?
Are you JOY?
Or are you sadness?…. not joy….. well, let me rephrase that statement as your current state of mind doesn’t define you but more describes your “now”.
Or are you neither? Do you live in FEAR? Disgust? Anger?
If you couldn’t tell by now, I speak in cartoons, pictures, sarcasm, humor, and anything else that stirs a feeling. I want you to feel something.
When I was originally praying about starting this blog the overall theme that came to my mind was to “capture a feeling”. Sort of like a picture does. We capture a moment, a feeling, minutes, seconds, breaths, smiles, tears, movement, and emotion. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words so it’s my goal to use LESS THAN a thousand words to create a visual image of a feeling that you can capture.
I was taking my evening bubble-man-bath and I started praying about what to talk about tonight. I heard God say, “you will write about joy”. There was no question to it really so here I am about to pump out some joy droppings! (mental image moment…. picture a unicorn “dropping” joy”… lol)
Rather than digging into all the things that are IN THE WAY of you finding joy we are going to talk about some REALLY EASY WAYS to trigger JOY IN YOU! Tomorrow morning is the PERFECT TIME to practice. Consider that your first target will probably be yourself so be prepped. Instead of throwing negative word darts at your feelings, think of the best ways to make those darts feel more like gummy bears hitting you and then falling into your mouth with yummy goodness! (joy dropping)
I’m going to glitter bomb you with TEN things you can do on just another manic Monday (wish it was Sunday?) so that you FIND JOY!
- Start your morning off by COUNTING YOUR BLESSINGS! I don’t mean the “O bless your hearts” that you got. I mean the real stuff like, YOU…ARE…BREATHING. You are alive. I think that’s always a great place to start to say THANKS! Take a second when you open your eyes and look around your room. For most of us reading this we will look up and see a roof over our head, heat or cold coming from the vents, sheets to snuggle with and hopefully coffee brewing that wonderful caffeinated goodness in the kitchen! Before you get out of bed, SAY THANK YOU. Whether you are thanking GOD (for me God, Jesus, Holy Spirit) or another form, just don’t forget to say THANK YOU!
- Get out in nature!!! As you walk to your car, stop and smell the roses. Literally, if you have roses, stop and smell them. If you don’t, run across the street and smell other’s roses. Don’t leave a rose unsmelled. Take frequent breaks in your day to just reconnect with nature. We were created from it!
- If you have a pet, spend time with it. Get down on your hands and knees and rub noses! Remember the tail wag is a symbol of JOY expressed by your PET. Maybe you should wag your tail more!
- Help someone else out. Do unto others…. yeah you know the saying! So whether its buying their coffee in starbucks, sharing your gum, giving water to a homeless person, or just sharing your space, do it with intention. In that moment remember that joy embodies life so watch it grow!
- Laugh and smile no matter how you are feeling. So you feel like “Sadness” might show her blue teary-eyed face today. Make the choice to laugh and smile even when Sadness is hanging out with you. Make it your goal to turn your sadness into someones smile…. hopefully your own.
- SING OUT LOUD!!! We all have a song that takes us to our own fairytale land! Sing yourself into LA LA LAND!!! Its a great place! I’m there every evening especially during shower time!
- JAZZERCIZE…. so really this is supposed to be exercise but I thought JAZZERCIZE would bring joy in itself. Put on your pink tights (or blue, or green) and kick your legs until you rev your body up with feel good fuel!
- Act like a kid and use your imagination! Don’t forget that getting that letter to the mailbox (away from the enemy) could save all of the world. That personal message that you just encrypted will soon save the world! (Literally you took your mail to the mail box but who knows who’s watching you? Thank goodness for your sleuth moves!)
- TAKE A NAP – snore, slobber, fall out of a chair…. do it all!
- Close your day the same way you started… with THANKSGIVING! Get on your hands and knees and THANK GOD (or whoever) for what you have and be sincere.
Once you find JOY, don’t be stingy with it! Share it freely! Share your time and life with someone so that they can CAPTURE A FEELING with you! Be the work of art in their mind that sparked joy!!!
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND SPEAK TO YOU THROUGH THESE WORDS! YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE LOVED BEYOND MEASURE. GOD’S GRACE AND LOVE IS INFINITE!! You…. yes you…. the one reading this…. YOU ARE LOVED BY GOD!!! Forget anything else you have heard before and celebrate right now because GOD IS LOVING ON YOU RIGHT NOW! You are reading this blog because GOD wanted you to know that you are loved!!! SO GO be in love and love the world!
If you want to visit more about INSIDE OUT (where I got the pics for the JOY/FEAR/SADNESS/DISGUST/ANGER) go to this website!
The Journey of TooTallTippy 