Getting back to joy | BAC Massage Therapy

Joy is defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness according to google and Oxford Languages.

Seems simple enough, right?!?!?!

But sometimes, somewhere along the road we seem to lose sight of what brings us Joy and we end up just surviving.

We end up bogged down in work, and schedules, and housework (even just with the essentials and not the dark corners where the dust bunnies multiply), and kids, and earning extra money to afford the next big trip, and holidays, and family obligations, and, and, and ... and we long for the next weekend even though it is only Monday, or the next day off, simply because we didn't make time to prioritize what brings us Joy, what fuels us, what lights us up, what energizes us.

So how do we break this nasty cycle you ask?

​We bring back Joy, and Pleasure, and Happiness.

We prioritize it every single day! 

Even if that means sitting in a kitchen full of dirty dishes and recycling to write a blog post (yep you guessed it, that's me right now because writing blogs brings me joy).

How do we prioritize joy?

• First and foremost we need to open our eyes and be present in order to find Joy in little moments.
• Then ...
• Make a list of the things, people, place, activities, and adventures that bring you Joy and post it on your fridge or above your office desk ... you can even pretty it up a bit and frame your list so you have a reminder of what you are seeking to add.
• Break you list into small things that can easily be squeezed in between clients or throughout your day ... and big things that need time on the weekend, or a day off, or several days off.
• Looking at your list, schedule things into your calendar accordingly ... even if it's just a solid block of time that only you get to choose in that moment how it is filled.
• Remember that there will always be cleaning to do, laundry to do, clients to see, running around that needs to happen, chauffeuring to do ... but there won't always be a lunar eclipse to observe, or stars to photograph, or children's laughter and giggles to hear, or that book series that just sucks you in, or painting with your daughter, or a quiet walk with your hubby.

My JOY LIST

Having trouble getting started? Here are some of the things on my Joy list, just to get you thinking ...

• Get out into nature ... even if it's the back garden, and sit a spell.
• Go for a walk in the woods.
• Photo walks with my kids.
• Painting anything.
• Taking a pottery class or workshop.
• Spending time with my closest friends.
• Camping.
• Watching my daughter dance.
• Checking out the night sky with my son.
• Time alone with my Hubby.
• An unbusy day all to myself (with no running around).
• Feeling the sun on my face.
• Holding hands.
• Hugs.
• Reading my favourite authors.
• Canoeing.
• Photography.
• My bee garden.
• Boardgames.
• Canasta.
• A walk with my Mom.
• .....

One of the other major things that I do is surround myself with actual printed photos ... of my favourite places, of my people in my favourite places, of a moment that just filled my heart till it was so full it was leaking out my eyes. My walls are full of both photographs and my art so that when I shift my gaze around any room I always land on something or someone that brings me joy or a joyful memory.

So print those photos you have stored on your phone, or the ones on your computer ... frame them and display them ... and then when your gaze lands on them, close your eyes, bring the memory to the surface and watch the scene like its from your favourite movie, and go back to it over and over again any time you need a little reminder that there is Love & Joy all around us ... we just have to choose to see it.

what will you do to prioritize joy
​today, and tomorrow, and the day after?

I think that we can all learn from each other, and sharing our journeys towards choosing Joy is the best place to start!

​So, share your adventures towards finding Joy again! 

Show us what brings you Joy!

​Be Joyful & Well!