Finding Joy

Sharing my list of joyful moments, I wanted to experience when I quit my job at the start of this year.

Photo from ‘Finding Joy’ movie.

Finding Joy

I made a list,

on how to find joy,

it was on the day I quit my job,

the last task for the day before I walked out the door,

a reminder to love myself like my life depended on it,

it was my way of staying true to me,

how I want life to liberate me.

My joy list includes simple life pleasures;

ice cream walks,

coffee talks,

doggy walks,

long lunch talks,

play with kids,

practice skating skids,

reading bliss,

find moments to kiss,

spending time with friends,

meaning making that never ends,

finding meaningful creative writing,

while I am literature citing,

occasional jogging,

weekly blogging,

make delicious food,

indulge in my fluctuating mood,

do all the things that makes my heart sing,

while I work out this PhD thing,

agency over my calendar time;

drinking Friday gins with lemon and lime;

it feels like a little affair with passion,

even the stressful session,

enjoying moments while I teach,

walks on the beach,

enjoy winter fire,

find people who inspire,

it feels like fun,

like waiting in the winter for the sun,

sharing the adventure with old and new friends,

sharing loads of ridiculous moment and fun that never ends,

finding amazing humans to learn alongside,

laughing at hilarious motherhood with pride,

perimenopausal symptoms are coming for the ride,

returning to myself in new ways again,

it feels like dancing in the rain,

that lives at the core of my joy.

On a closing fieldnote, when I quit my social work practice job in February, I made a joy list, it has been sitting in my ‘drafts’ since January as a quiet reminder to love myself during this journey like my life depended on it, so I can show up for my family in the best possible way.

I wanted to commit to feeling life again, joy again, while working on a passion research project and working out the next move. This was a joy list, my accountability list, a promise to myself list, to get me through those rainy stressful days when everything is going wrong, I can get up, dust off, and know I am okay. Today, I have re-written it into a poem to share, Finding Joy.

I found you, joy, and you feel pretty damn good within me too! I now have a new commitment to myself, surround myself with likeminded people that keep this joy alive.

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