Joy is a deep well of feeling that surpasses language. It contains part happiness, part contentment, part elation — with dashes of play, surprise, and even transcendence in the mix. It can be a response to peak experiences, those moments in your life when you describe yourself as overjoyed, and it can be felt as a quieter but abiding sense of well-being. Joy can also, at times, feel far out of reach. When the weight of your sorrow becomes heavy, joy can seem impossible and perhaps even unjustified. And yet, joy persists in both small moments and grand occasions, in solitude and in community, in the best moments of your life and even amidst your hardships. 

This practice of noticing, naming, and making time for joy offers a quick way to access a little more joy, right now, today.

Step One: Recall an Experience of Joy

To begin, listen to this 3-minute guided visualization that invites you to recall an experience of joy and to remember what joy feels like in your heart, body, and mind.

Click here for a transcript.

Step Two: Schedule Your Appointments

Pick three times today when you know you can spend 3 to 5 minutes on this practice. Set your alarm or find some other way to remind yourself that you have three appointments with joy.

During each of these appointments with joy: 

  • Look around and identify one source of joy offering itself to you — a photograph, a song, a neighbor, a plant, a book, a meal, the blue sky!
  • Write down your source of joy and how it feels to pause and savor it, to let it in.
  • Photograph one or two of your joys and share them with others.

Step Three: Reflect

At the end of your day, take stock of any benefits that arose from going through your day with the intention of noticing and creating joy. 

  • How did it impact your mood or sense of well-being?
  • Was there anything challenging about the practice?
  • How might you adopt some part of this practice for your daily life going forward?
  • What role did gratefulness play in noticing and experiencing joy?

Photo by Alex Alvarez


Say Yes to Joy

How might your daily life change if you could experience more joy, even alongside sorrow? In this self-guided series, discover tangible grateful living practices to welcome more joy into your life.

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Sheryl Chard, Grateful Living
Sheryl Chard, Grateful Living

Sheryl Chard is the Director of Education at Grateful Living. She is a lifelong educator, passionate about designing innovative and beautiful spaces in which people are inspired to learn and grow. She has spent nearly three decades teaching and leading in schools and organizations, creating transformative learning experiences rooted in both scholarship and heart. In 2013, she founded the Sofia Center for Professional Development, whose professional offerings support and honor educators in their sacred work.

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Joy
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