It was a joyful day because my very good friend was finally released from the hospital after 7+ weeks suffering with Covid-19. She was in ICU for many of those weeks, and on a ventilator twice! By some great miracle and the grace of God she survived to return home to her husband, two sons, and very happy Golden Retrievers. Today a large group of friends got together in a parking lot and formed a parade to drive by her house with signs, honking horns, and balloons. She was sitting in a lawn chair in her driveway watching us all go by. It was such a great celebration of life and friendship. Seeing her and my other friends, that I have not seen in months, was a huge blessing. A truly joyful day.
In this time of our nation’s quarantine lockdown, there may seem very little to be joyful about. Many people have had their lives and livelihoods slowly stripped away and destroyed by rules that seem to make very little common sense. When faced with the choice of working with risk of possible illness from Covid-19 and staying home with the guarantee of bankruptcy, we humans need something to feel joyful about.
So how do we create more joy?
Realize that you have control of your mind. When faced with so many negative seemingly impossible circumstances in your life, remember that joy is a choice that you can make. You may really have to dig at times to see it, but there are always things to be thankful for. For example, today I will meet with my family over zoom to play trivia. For a couple of hours, we will get together, talk, and compete in an epic trivia battle from all corners of the United States. It will break up an otherwise long rainy day of quarantine and allow me to see my family. My adult children will make fun of me and my parents when we get a wrong answer, but seeing our stupidity bring them joy is also joyful for me.
Continue to look for silver linings. With every challenge comes opportunity for growth. Think of yourself as a work in progress and look for ways to rise to the challenge. If you work on choosing growth over defeat, you can create more joy for your life over time. It may feel like a big effort but challenging yourself daily to find joy and growth will ultimately create a more fulfilling life. I am joyful that I currently have a job and so does my team. All of us are making less money than we used to – our hands have been tied by our state’s restrictions – but we can continue to work within those restrictions and will not starve. We have banned together to become more and more creative in our work to create support for our community and our team. We can choose to feel joy in our work, even if the days are long and exhausting.
Look around yourself right now and choose something to feel joyful about. As you practice the skill of looking for joy it will become more natural. Practicing gratitude in the midst of negative circumstance will allow you to create more joy.
What are you joyful about today? Please let me know in the comments!
Dr. Julie Cappel
If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment. – Carlos Santana
Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home… It’s your responsibility to love it or change it. – Chuck Palahniuk
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