My last two blog posts have been about joy, and being conscious of all the joy that’s in our lives, every day.
It’s my intention to notice more of the abundance of joy in my life. Even with all the challenges of life, there are joys in our days too, but my attention isn’t always tuned to them.
I have been thinking about joy and being on a pilgrimage, and how it might be easier to be conscious of the joys in our days on a pilgrimage, because we’d be in a new environment, and we would be away from the cares and concerns of our everyday lives.
But, maybe not….I have friends who have been on real Camino pilgrimages, and they say some days are a struggle, and on those days, they say, noticing joy is not necessarily top-of-mind.
Then I had a couple of conversations about noticing joy with friends. I was curious about how much they felt they are conscious of the joys in their lives, throughout the moments of their days.
Like me, my friends looked back into their lives and easily identified many things that they are grateful for. However, they say that they aren’t as aware of the joys as they move through their days.
So, I’m wondering: do we need to train ourselves to notice joy, until it becomes habitual?
Babies spontaneously gurgle with joy (but not all day, of course). So the capacity for noticing and feeling joy does seem like it is something that we humans are born with.
However, as we mature and take on more responsibilities and challenges, the full awareness of joy seems to slip below the surface of our minds.
Having my Joy Stuff journal by my side during the day is a positive trigger that prompts me to stop, breathe, and notice joy during my day. Perhaps with practice, I will train my brain to see joys in the moment.
What do you think: do we need to train ourselves to notice joy?
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