small ways to more fully capture the joy you are already experiencing

For several years now, I have practiced a luscious variety of joy-centered thought exercises and journaling prompts, and gosh the books that have come my way… so good! Maybe you’ve been around for some of this self education. Each aspect of this practice has nourished me so well that at this point in my life, I can scarcely imagine feeling like myself without them.

My husband and I honestly believe that life, the world at large, is constantly brimming with goodness, beauty, miracles, relief, purpose, pleasure, safety, friendship, loyalty, romance, humor, and much more, all of which contribute to the effervescent feelings we call joy. But wow, do we manage to overlook it all. Not because we’re terrible people, but because there are also shadows and hardships in life, and inertia is powerful. Sometimes it just takes a trick or two to refocus and return to Love. Then, the more we notice the goodness of life, the more we feel it, and the more it grows and multiplies. The more it grows and multiplies, the more we can live in alignment with our values and actually do good for others, and the more we all collectively believe in the goodness offered to us. This is how we cushion each other against the inevitable hard moments.

Anyway. I think you get it. If you have been reading here for any length of time, then you definitely have the vibe for counting small joys, seeking the silver linings, and consciously choosing a perspective of Love as often as possible. We don’t always get it right, but we know the power behind these practices.

I’d like to share some of my tricks. Below are some gentle thought exercises for you to try, some journal prompts very much worth the space in your notebook, and a reading list (though incomplete) for when you can devote a little more time to this effort. Sample them with an easy, playful touch, no pressure. Let them drum up in your ribcage a sensation of well-being. The goodness around you is just waiting to be noticed.

Thought Exercises:

1. Reframe: What if this is actually an answer to prayer, a divine intervention on our behalf? How can we get deep-down excited by this specific gift?
2. Or, if this is a trial or a hardship meant to be endured, where are the silver linings? How can you find beauty and courage in the meantime? Or how can this situation serve a greater purpose?
3. Who is nearby me and needs help? How can I meet someone else’s needs and get untangled from my own thoughts?
4. If this were a great novel or movie, what would my favorite kind of main character do next? How would she frame this situation?
5. In the midst of a difficult moment, project yourself into the future: How do you want to look back on this? Handle it accordingly to make your future self proud and satisfied. Also, think about all the parts of this moment that are actually great.
6. What is the easiest, most fun way to accomplish this job?

Journal Prompts:

Senses Inventory: I saw this idea years ago and adapted it. I’ve probably written a few hundredof them now and sometimes share them here. Just notice in this present moment what you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel, maybe add thoughts and emotions. No judgement, no explanations, just details. This is extremely useful for grounding yourself and halting an anxious thought loop.

Notice Your Happiness: Stop and pay attention to when you are happiest, when you feel most relaxed, when you feel most optimistic, or soft-hearted. Drench those moments with your full attention. Be sure to say thank you, because gratitude amplifies everything.

Favorites Game: Play a game wth yourself where you notice as much of one of your “favorites” as possible. For example, for an hour or a day or however long you need, keep a mental tally of how often you see your favorite color, just living your normal life. Or listen for your favortie song played without your intervention, or maybe your favorite birdsong. See how often your favorite actor or book or joke or anything gets mentioned at dinner with friends. Set your radar, is what I’m suggesting, for pinging things that bring you pleasure or at least sparks of it.

Bliss Lists: I snagged this idea from the Hungry Yogis. Their monthlyapproach is so fun and kind of lends itself to an ongoing list you might maintain daily, over the course of the month. Gosh the word bliss is wonderful! I have shared a handful of my own on this blog, and the urge always seems to return when the weather changes.

The Tiny Joys Project is a small, sweet, digestible writing effort you can find on every social media platform. Here is her Substack! I appreciate her urging to keep our focus on tiny things. Because they aren’t tiny, we all know that. They are the atoms of the big things in life.

Reading Suggestions:

Truly, for nourishing your heart and soul, I encourage you to just read. Read anything you can’t get enough of, and read lots of your favorite authors. Read things outside of your comfort zone, read classics, and definitely read biographies. Read alone and read with friends. It’s magical. Fiction or nonfiction, books give us a special way to learn how others live their lives and to witness how they navigate hard seasons or build amazing stories.
Aside from that, here are a few titles that have made deep and lasting impressions on me, for the better:

Return to Love, Marianne Williamson
The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom
The Four Winds, Kristin Hannah
The Shack by William P. Young
Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
Jesus Calling, a devotional by Sarah Young
One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp
Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach (I read this in my 20s and still appreciate the ripple effect)
Book of Joy, a collaboration between Doug Abrams, the Dalai Lama, and Desmond Tutu
Book of Hope, another collaboration, tis one between Doug Abrams and Jane Goodall
The Well Gardened Mind by Dr. Sue Stuart-Smith
Educated memoir by Tara Westover
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore


Please share what devices in life help you shift gears when you feel less like yourself. I’d love to know! And I definitely realize that this reading list is incomplete. I’ll collect a better list some day.

“I urge you to please notice when you are happy,
and exclaim or murmur or think at some point,
‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.'”
~Kurt Vonnegut
XOXOXO