Finding Joy — Even When Nothing Seems Joyful
Generally, I would say I’m a pretty positive person but even I have been questioning my own optimism in recent times.
The past week or so has been pretty hard for my family and the joy and happiness that usually fill my house have declined. As a result, it’s been a big challenge to stay positive and hopeful during a time that feels the opposite.
However, yesterday a little friendly ball of energy (seen in the picture) lifted my and my family's spirits and helped to shift my own perspective in a strange yet exciting way.
I was in my room watching a show with a friend when I was suddenly called outside by my sister. Confused and worried I ran downstairs and out my front door where my mom and sister had been sitting.
As I got outside I found a random dog running around on our porch. We don’t have a dog and haven’t had one since I was about 4 or 5 years old. Thus, at first, this was a very strange and shocking sight.
Apparently, this random dog (named Otter) just walked up to our doorstep and started playing, jumping, and just having fun! We had no idea where Otter came from or how he ended up picking our house to stumble upon but it was exciting, nonetheless.
This precious lost dog was obsessed with us and his energy & excitement was infectious amongst us all. It was just what we all needed — a little ball of loving energy to lift us up.
We ended up finding Otter’s owner and he was safely returned but we soon missed having so much joyous energy in our presence.
It was a real blessing that Otter just happened to chose our house to get lost at. He came right when we craved it most and gave us the most needed and amazing gift: joy.
Being able to find joy during hard times is vital for your mental health. It helps to put things into perspective and gives you a more positive outlook on your situation.
Physically engaging in something that brings you joy can alter your brain in powerful ways and that includes your mindset — like playing with a dog. When you change the way you hold yourself and allow your body to do something that positively changes your energy your mind will follow with a switch in perspective.
Changing the state of your physical body and doing something you love will also lift your vibration. When you have a higher vibration it will be easier to look at your circumstance from a deeper, more well-rounded perspective as opposed to seeing things at surface level (i.e. just how something initially makes you feel).
That’s why it’s super important to do something you love each day and make it a priority to do something joyful. Even just 5 minutes of playing with a pet, doing your favorite hobby, listening & dancing to your favorite music, or watching your favorite youtube videos can shift everything you do.
It might only be 5 minutes but if you are able to fit that into each day you can never say that any day was completely terrible.
Now that doesn’t mean it’s not okay to have a bad day. Of course, it’s okay, we can’t be perfectly happy 24/7. However, even when you have a bad day you will be able to pull joy from that 5 minutes and hold onto it for the rest of the day — automatically shifting the way you look at the not-so-good parts.
It also adds an element of gratitude into your life. Gratitude comes from being able to see the positives in your circumstance and being thankful for them despite the parts of your life that are hard to go through. If you have an overall bad day you can be grateful you spent 5 minutes making your joy and mental health a priority.
The days add up. You may not see a shift immediately but the more you consciously engage in joyful things the more you will be able to unconsciously and more consistently feel joy in your life.
The lost dog that came to my house yesterday forced us all to be joyful for some time. It helped to remind ourselves that happiness and joy haven’t been lost, they just need to be felt in a different way or need to be felt deep within ourselves.
That feeling of joy has burned our hearts so that even when we have a bad day that feeling of joy will remind us that every event has a purpose and every purpose leads to a better outcome. That is if you allow yourself to feel joy even when it feels like there is no way to feel it.
Sincerely,
Skylar Rae🌻❤️
Follow my Instagram for more soul enlightenment, mental health, and personal development — @skylarraeblog
