The Joy Factor

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Lean on Me

Posted by Wendy Watkins on February 11, 2011 · Leave a Comment 

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain                             
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on

Bill Withers

This week, life has offered me a few lemons. What do you do with lemons? You can taste their sourness or if you are a Joy Strategist like me, you make lemonade. In theory, making lemonade is easy. Yet this week, I have needed a lot of help with this simple process.  What I crave from this lemonade is to taste the sweetness of life amidst unfortunate situations.  9 months ago we rescued a sweet dog named Eli. Over our time together, we have realized that Eli is not the right dog for us. With a very heavy heart we have decided to find him another home. I wish I had bought stock in Kleenex before we made this decision.

In the middle of all of this, I launched into the Next Top Self Help Author contest (ps—vote for me today!)  to win a publishing contract for my upcoming book about finding joy inside of yourself.  This has been a true test of walking my talk.  Along with using the 4 ingredients that I share in the book, I have found 3 powerful things that have helped me experience joy through this current event.

One is to call my friends. It is great when they are there and can talk; they are so helpful. When they have not been available, I lean into my theme for the year. For the past 10 years, I have picked a theme to support me on my journey. This year my theme is to Expect the Best. Those 3 words have lifted me up when I am spiraling down in worry and doubt. Last, but not least is music. This morning I went to Bill Withers song, Lean on Me. His words remind me that there is so much support available to us in so many different shapes and sizes.  It is just a matter of leaning in, feeling what needs to be felt and ultimately, choosing joy again and again. And of course, the best leaning in is the hug from my husband.

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Riding through discomfort

Posted by Juliette Mansour on August 30, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Most of us want to go in the direction of what we have envisioned, what we want for our lives. Most of us want to be happy, successful, and healthy. When we end up going where we don’t want to go, we assume something is wrong or someone made us take a wrong turn. Does that mean we are robbed of our joy? Does joy disappear when things seem “wrong”?

What if nothing’s wrong? What if joy is still breathing underneath, but life is designed to give us a few challenges so that we learn to navigate reality as the continuum of ebb and flow? What if it just takes something major to wake us up, to shake us up so we see how we were blocked from letting joy work for us?

It’s a humbling experience when we can climb out of the bottom of the hole, sit on the periphery and gaze over the big picture. By the same token, it can soothe our ruffled feathers and remind us that there is so much more going on in our galaxy than the issue with this person at work or that person at home. It’s then we can understand that our joy is still very much alive, using our daily experiences and challenges to expand. This awareness keeps makes us larger than our minds and lightens things up.

Can we see discomfort as a gift offering growth and something better? Bearing witness to that discomfort and how we respond (or react) can impede joy or welcome it in. Joy is out there regardless of whether or not we let it in. During the discomfort, we can trust that there is an ebb and flow to lead us to the other side. And on the other side, we will evolve and grow with more courage – because we held onto trust.

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Love.

Posted by Tracey Lynne on July 19, 2010 · 1 Comment 

Being deeply loved by someone
gives you strength,
while loving someone
deeply gives you courage.
~Lao Tzu

Tracey Lynne here! Excited about joining the Joy Posse, and sharing what brings me joy.
Really, the list of things that bring me joy is endless. But how to find joy in the little things… in the moments where joy seems to elude us.
That is what excites me in this moment.

My boyfriend and I have been discussing the relationship of love and fear. In conversation, with others we discovered some people believe the opposite of love is hate. I disagree, I believe that the opposite of love is fear. Where fear is rampant, love is absent. All of my decisions and actions can be traced back to those two things; am I acting out of love, or am I acting out of fear? Our extended conversation about feelings and qualities brought up how often we (people) believe what we are fed, and go on believing it until something or someone in our lives offers an opportunity to challenge our beliefs. My boyfriend and I are choosing to consciously relate to love and fear, and notice that at any given point we are at choice. Imagine the most decadent soup you’ve tasted, and all of the ingredients that go into making such a divine dish. Same thing with people! The choices I make on a daily basis ultimately make up my ‘divine dish’! I can choose to be in love, or I can choose to be in fear. The courage it takes to love and to CHOOSE love in the moment of upset or fear is tremendous, yet the opportunity to make that choice brings me SOOOOO much joy! Instead of being lead by a blind belief, or a blind emotion, I can CHOOSE! How cool is that? Simple and true. Conscious choices create joy in my life. The more I am able to stop, take a look at my thought, my action, or my belief, the more often I am able to choose how I proceed. Today… I joyfully choose LOVE!

Till next time, what do you choose?

Cheers!

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