November 24th, 2022

After what feels like a lifetime of putting others first - and by others I also include that annoying all encompassing inner voice - today I decided to do something that brings joy to my life. Every Day. So, to clarify, every day I will spend a period of time doing something that brings me joy. There. I’ve said it. Brings. Me. Joy.

I decided this about an hour ago. I’m away from my family and children, visiting my Dad. I was sitting in bed, the TV on a news channel and I just thought ‘where’s my joy?’. I thought back over the last couple of months, and I realised that I hadn’t spent any time doing things that made me happy. And by that I don’t mean I was unhappy, I am surrounded by a pair of awesome kids, a great husband, and a close family.  But I hadn’t spent any time painting (I’m not particularly artistically talented, but I like what I do), I hadn’t spent very much time on my writing (I have a number of pieces ‘nearly’ ready for publication) and I hadn’t spent much time out in nature. It was a bit of a light bulb moment. I had been coasting through life, letting myself drift, living ‘unconsciously’. And this from a person who used to have dreams, goals and To Do List!!! 

And you know what? I don’t want to be that person anymore. I want to share my stores with people; I want to proudly show off my latest painting, and have my husband say ‘Oh, that’s colourful’ (you can see why I love him, can’t you?!), I want to be able to tick stuff off that list!

So I hit the shower, threw on my clothes - tidied the hotel room!! Yeah Mommies can trash a hotel room in under a minute too. Kids take note! And I walked to the local discount store and bought a couple of writing pads. And here I am, committing to you, that I will do something that brings me joy - one thing, every day. Boom Bring it on!

Like so many of us, this last couple of years has been tough - COVID scared us into staying away from others, a lot of people lost loved ones, business stalled and many failed. There’s a group of people who took all of this and turned it into positive actions. They quit jobs that made them unhappy, they got themselves fit, they bought a camper van…and so many more bucket list items have been checked off. Now we are fighting the global economic slowdown. There’s a war in Ukraine, and hidden underneath, mostly out of sight, there is a mental health time bomb, tick, tick ticking away.

I’d love it if you’d like to join me, to walk beside me, for the next 30 days. Today is November 25th. I want to see if I can bring the joy back into my life, before Christmas, but not for Christmas if you get what I mean? So, from today until the 18th December, I’m going to consciously do something that brings me joy. I can’t spend hours doing it, so I’m aiming for just 30 minutes each day. #30MinutesOfJoy. Let’s go! 

I’m feeling excited and invigorated. Today my joy will be spending time with my Dad AND - Yes! Two pots of joy today! (I’m greedy, right,!) I’m going to take 30 minutes to write. It might not be a lot to some, but making time for my writing is important to me.  And the photo? My Dad and I sat looking at old photos and talking about places we've been.
What will you do to bring joy into your life today?

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