There are times of pure joy.
Those moments that fill us up
where nothing else is present
but that sense of light
flowing through and around us.
It’s glorious.
It bolsters and renews our spirits.
Grounding us firmly in the moment.
Reminding us to revel and to savor.
And…it’s rare.
Because most of the time
we hold a complex slurry
of emotions, experiences,
struggles, stories, hopes–
all wrapped in the beauty and mess of living.
With practice and the strong arms of friends
we come back to ourselves.
No longer striving for that gleeful light,
but rolling in it, arms stretched out,
belly to the sky, when it finds us.
At its essence, joy is far more than feeling happy.
Joy dares to go where happiness will never tread.
Joy takes us deep,
beckoning us to see the whole picture
and not turn away.
Joy resides in unlikely places.
The breathtaking bloom surrounded by thorns.
The way this earth renews itself through loss.
The sense of belonging that takes root
when we come together around a cause.
The exquisite connection formed by shared experience.
Far from fairy tales,
joy is found in the grit, the celebration,
and the resilience of daring to say Yes to all of it.
Leaving nothing out.
To live in Wild joy.
