Perhaps you treasure a memory like this:  Watching my daughter play tag one night when she was about five.  She was running as fast as she could, dodging and ducking, staying just out of reach of the person who was “it”.  Just before she was about to be “tagged” she reached the tree and gleefully screamed, “Home!”.  The exhilaration she and her friends displayed as they ran and laughed and played sounded like pure joy.

According to the inspirational author, Robert Ringer, joy is “a moment in time when everything seems to be just perfect.”

Where is our joy?  It’s too easy to get caught up in speed, stress and to-do lists.  It’s easy to miss the awe and beauty that surrounds us.

Feeling joy has benefits.  Joyful people experience fewer heart attacks, have lower cholesterol, lower stress levels and live longer.  Joy boosts our resilience and well-being.  It gives us the energy and enthusiasm to get through our busy days.

We can find joy in many places: a stunning sunrise, a simple gift, given or received, a quiet moment of meditation, the clarity when our thoughts come together into an action plan.

We can cultivate and embrace joy:

• Look for joy
• Keep a gratitude journal
• Help others

Being totally immersed in what you are doing can be pure joy.  Watching gymnast Katelyn Ohashi’s floor performance is to see pure joy.  I totally agree.

The road is easier together,