Finding Joy by Rochelle Melander

Sophie greets a friend.

In times of joy, all of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag. —W. H. Auden

Last week, walking to the car after my workout session, I glanced through the windows of the daycare center, hoping to catch a glimpse of the children. An infant scurried toward the window, pulled herself up, and grinned at me. I waved at her, and she pounded on the window, as if to say, “Isn’t life fun?”

I needed that moment of pure joy. I’d been rushing around, trying to finish everything before the holidays. Until then, everything—even the fun tasks—felt more like chores than blessings. But that sweet girl, who found such happiness pounding on a window at a smiling stranger, reminded me that staying present to each moment can open us to experiencing unexpected joys.

As Martha Beck said,

Today, please connect with a book or person who pulls you into the zone of joy (or I should say helps you pull yourself into the zone of joy), and feel the beauty of that experience. Nothing I can say here will give you half as much insight as a moment of living it. You’ll discover firsthand that living in the joy zone is itself “too good to be false.”

Enjoy the holidays! —Rochelle, the Write Now! Coach