Find your Joy!

Is there something that’s guaranteed to get you out of bed in the morning (apart from the smell of coffee) and actually looking forward to your day?

What is your joy in life, your ‘spark’? What gives you a sense of purpose as well as pleasure? The Japanese call this ‘Ikigai’; in French it’s your ‘raison d’etre’ and in her book “The Well Lived Life“, the 102-year-old holistic doctor Gladys McGarey calls it your ‘Juice’, your life force.

Finding your passion has become a bit of a cliché in recent years, but whatever you call it, it’s what gives your life meaning and merit, satisfaction and sparkle, and if you haven’t found yours yet, don’t despair – we are on this journey together.

For some, our joy is still our paid work; maybe you could have retired but you still love your job and there are things you still want to accomplish.

For others, it’s volunteering: do you fundraise for your favourite charity? Distribute packages at your local food bank? Are you a friend at the animal rescue centre or do you demonstrate at climate change rallies?

Where do you find yourself in the flow?

Do you get lost when you’re gardening (not literally!)

Do you paint, sculpt, sew or knit?

Perhaps you are perfecting the recipe for your signature dish (mine is chocolate brownies)?

Do you haunt antique fairs and vintage sales, or are you on a decluttering and

downsizing mission?

Does time stand still when you practise Yoga, Pilates or Qigong?

I love to write, and this is one area of joy for me, where I get in the flow. I love words and language, prose and poetry. I like conveying a message and I also write for fun: flash fiction, humour, even Instagram captions for my cat’s account!

Wanting to write is one of the things that gets me up in the morning; it’s a joy (usually!) and my day is better when I have put pen to paper early on. There are other joys, sparks, passions and I will write about those another time.

Have you found your joy yet? To use more clichés: if not now, when? It’s never too late to become who you might have been!

Please go to my Contact page and let me know in the comments – we are in this together!