Reclaiming Joy

For those of us who have been through trauma, finding joy through the healing journey can be challenging. We may not feel as though we have the right to be happy, or perhaps we don’t think we deserve it. We may feel that we are just not lucky enough to have that. This is not true.

Joy is your birthright. Your right to joy is not determined by what you did or did not do, but by the fact that you are alive. As long as you live, you deserve to be happy, regardless of your past experiences or who you were yesterday.

While finding joy in each day may be challenging, as we practice this more, we get better at it. The more you deliberately seek joy, the better you feel. As you begin to feel better, your external world reflects this too.

When life is a struggle, attempting to find joy can feel impossible. To shift this state of being, do one thing for just two minutes today to deliberately find something to feel joyful about, even if it is a piece of chocolate. Really focus on the joy it brings you in the moment, and allow that feeling to fill you. Extend the time you spend seeking joy each day until you have reprogrammed the way you see the world. When you seek joy, you will always find it. It is the desire to seek it that is the first step.

5 Ways to find and create joy in your life:

Gratitude and appreciation:
Make a list on paper (or even in your head) of five things you feel grateful for. Choose things that you feel deep appreciation for – not things you think you should feel grateful for, but rather things that you really, in your heart, feel gratitude for. Bask in these feelings, allowing them to carry you to the next uplifting thought.
Music or dance:
Moving your body allows you to shake off any internal weight you are carrying. Put on fun music that makes you smile and want to get up and dance. Allow your body to flow freely to the song, letting everything go. Be silly and use movement to release everything that is weighing you down.
Crafting or a hobby:
Creatively expressing yourself can be both healing and nourishing. We feed our souls through our creative expression. Use this practice to release and create. At the end of the project you will have a piece of art that comes from your soul.
Meditation:
This is the most effective way to clear the mind of thought. Often we have a dialogue going on with self and are not really aware of the negative state of these thoughts. Clearing the mind helps you to begin anew and intentionally choose the thoughts you want to begin with. You can only go up from there.
Spending time in nature:
Nature can be restorative and healing. Dangle your feet in water or ground yourself by being barefoot on the earth. Smell the flowers and bask in the glory around you. Open your heart, body and mind to the healing of nature.

The more you intentionally seek joy, the more it will appear in your life. Start where you are, no matter how small a step you take, and look for the beauty, love and joy that surrounds you.