✨a message of joy✨
I guess you could say that I have a bee in my bonnet. Every so often I get “unsettled” by the negativity or fear or anger hanging out all around the internet. I get fired up when joy becomes a casualty of the darkness that invades life.
I mean, that’s the point of “all this” right?
The purpose of Ridiculous Joy is fighting to see the joy around us. Even when the world feels heavy. Even when it feels ridiculous. What started as a playlist that brought me joy, is now a daily practice that keeps me tethered to joy…and hope. While it’s been somewhat of a routine for me over the past few years, we made it official in 2020 - in the thick of a dang pandemic - and Ridiculous Joy was born.
You know all this. But this week we started a “joy bootcamp” of sorts. I got fired up and then couldn’t get it out of my head so this “bootcamp” became “paying attention with a purpose.”
Here’s the thing: fear and negativity and comparison are robbing us of our joy. We are bogged down with the heaviness of the world around us, we are bombarded with bad news and unrealistic expectations from others and from ourselves. We consume massive amounts of information and entertainment - more than our brains were meant to handle. We are overwhelmed by life…and it seems to be sucking the joy right out of us.
And so? We “bootcamp” this week. We go back to basics and we take small steps toward joy each day to remind ourselves what we already know. We remember to intentionally seek joy - fight for joy - in our everyday lives.
Because we don’t want the darkness to win.
***
Each day, we focus on ONE aspect of joy to help us get back to the ridiculous kind of joy we all need in our life. Here are the themes so far this week:
Name ONE thing that brings you joy on a daily basis (daily walks, morning coffee, reading, dogs!) Something you can look forward to every single day that gives your soul a spark of joy. More of that going forward.
What is ONE thing you can schedule this week that will bring you joy (coffee with a friend? A hike? What is it?) And also: ARE you regularly scheduling joy into your weeks? It doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming! IT JUST NEEDS TO BRING YOU JOY.
Take a joy inventory: catalog your joy so you know where to find it/expect it. Basically, are you aware of the things that bring you joy? Could you make a list so that you have an arsenal at the ready for when you need it most?
Coming up tomorrow and Friday, we tackle a couple more reminders:Know your JOY RESET (is it a playlist, a walk, a routine…what can bring you out of a funk every time?) When things go pear-shaped, do you have a plan? Do you know what you can count on to reignite your joy? (Ridiculous Joy STARTED because of a joy reset of mine: a good playlist and an even better dance party.)
Who are your travel buddies (your joy community) Who are your ride or die? Are they adding to your joy or are they zapping your joy energy. Intentionally seek out those friends/family that bring JOY!
If you want to join in, just start wherever you are. It’s not about following rules it’s about remembering that we choose to see joy, choose to fight for joy, every single day. It takes work…but it’s only as complicated as we make it.
Fighting for joy is a beautiful act of defiance.
And that’s exactly what we’ve been training for.
We’ll come back to internet joys, and all the extras, after all things bootcamp. I have quite the collection stored up! But, as always, I hope you’ll find something helpful and encouraging in all of this. A way to connect - and keep connected - to the ridiculous kind of joy that keeps us tethered to hope. And to each other.
Love you all!!
<3 Jill
p.s.
This is a terrible picture but omg the joy that comes from looking up at the sky and seeing a few different PLANETS with the naked eye. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. At any rate, later at night you’re still able to see Jupiter and Mars fairly easily. 😍 There are apps that can help (I love Sky Guide) but for some reason, I just had to end with that.
Love you all!