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Joy

Last year a friend gave me a small journal. It has a lovely embroidered cover. I love journals. I love stationery. I love writing. I have a lot of journals so I thought this one should have a special purpose. This one would be my 'joy journal' and I would write in it at the end of each day about something in my day that brought me joy.

That was last year. It is still completely blank. Last year it was hard for me to find much joy daily. I am sure it was there, I was just too tired to look for it. However, my life at this moment is so much better in so many ways. It is easy to find joy each day.

My hope is to get into the habit of finding joy daily that when life is hard again (because really, life is hard at times for all of us) seeking out the joy in the day will help me through it. When we find joy, it can lift us up in difficult times, it can inspire us to move forward, it can give hope. It can also be contagious. When we recognize joy we then cultivate it. When we cultivate it, we increase it. When we increase it, we share it. When we share it, it changes us and those around us.

I am not a 'rose coloured glasses outlook' sort of person. I am very positive and tend to find the good in situations. However, I am also a realist. We all have a choice of attitude. We may not always be able to change our circumstances. Yet we can choose our outlook.

I am willing to find the joy in each day because I believe it will help me be a better person. It will help me celebrate the gifts in my life. It will help me be a better friend. It will help me be a better member of my community. It may even help me inspire others.

So starting today I will end the day writing in my joy journal. I am excited to see what joy there is. Feel free to join me in this journey.

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