November was a whirlwind. I left my job to focus on my family and build my own business. As I found my groove, COVID swept through the household and threw us out of our routine for two weeks. As we got back on our feet, Mum and Dad visited from Malaysia for a 10-day trip. Stefan turned four and Steven turned 34. Just like that, we’re staring down at 2024. Chaotic as it may have been, I took to the words from my astrology reading to ground myself by finding joy and magic in the everyday.
Everyone’s definition of joy may be different. For me, joy is the things, people and actions that stir up a ripple in your heart. It brings a twinkle in your eyes, a pep in your step. It is the thought that envelopes you like a warm hug. That feeling had eluded me for a long time. But I felt it again last month, and it came back over and over again. As it turned out, my joy comes not from material things but from the immaterial stuff.
Joy is listening to Mum and Dad snoring in their sleep. Their symphony signalling their being and my closeness to them. Sleeping in the same room as them, a first since my teens, to me, was safety and comfort.
Joy is reconnecting with my piano playing. The act of creating music makes me feel more alive than ever.
Joy is wandering leisurely with the freedom to seek inspiration for my work.
Joy is putting up Christmas lights with Stefan and watching his exclamation when the lights turn on in the evening.
Joy is looking at the fairy lights in the backyard and the soft, warm glow they exude.
Joy is touching the soil and watching my hydrangeas and flowers grow.
Joy is resurrecting my chilli plant and anticipating the buds turning into chillis.
Joy is discovering a hidden lunch spot by the beach only locals know and spending a few hours in the sun.
My list of things that make me joyful sounds like a typical pensioner’s day, which makes me think: why are we made to wait until we’re marching towards death to experience joy? Yet we’re doomed to spend our most bountiful and vital years toiling away.
If happiness is measured in currency, we, as a society, are bankrupt.
Image credit: kaboompics
