Joy To The World

I like to think about joy as a very welcome and unexpected guest. We can’t control it, or corral it, we don’t even know when it will arrive. But with loving attention we can create those welcoming conditions under which it might stay for a while.

So much of what I do when working with clients in the treatment room is about simplifying, creating a skincare protocol that uses fewer and simpler products, giving the skin more time to breathe, or re-working the diet or the schedule, lessening the stresses on the body and mind. But at the foundation, I know that these are also the ways in which joy more easily enters our lives. Joy comes to us when we’ve made space for that glowing happiness to grow, and, truly, that’s what beautiful radiance is all about. Joyfulness is what creates that beauty that shines from within.

At the end of the year, during this time of togetherness and of contemplation, we have a great chance to clear more space for joy. If your focus has drifted a bit, that might mean shifting those things that mean the most back into the center of your life. If you’re the kind of person who likes lists, you might note down those aspects that give you the most joy and consider how to provide them a bigger welcome. If you think visually, you might bring objects that remind you of your true joy closer into your daily sphere, where you can be inspired. And, of course, ultimately, it might mean taking out the calendar, and clearing space for relaxation, for adventure, or for more time with friends and family in order to let the joy in.

As we all know, whatever brings us joy, sparking that feeling of creativity and warm connection, is also the nourishing and replenishing source that makes us great in everything else we do. Joy comes from inside, and yet it’s also mysterious. So as we open ourselves to more of life’s sweetness, let’s also be open to surprises. Your next burst of joy may come from somewhere unimagined—Get ready!—but we can welcome it all the same, with the happy hope it will linger a long while.

I am wishing you so much simple joy this season.

---

Also in Journal