i’ve heard this phrase before. i’ve even seen lots of bumper stickers on cars in front of me at the stoplight to remind me to not postpone joy. at one point in my life, i had someone tell me that “no one can steal my joy”. it was a powerful message to me at that time – as i was just starting out in the real world after graduating from college. the word, “joy”, took center stage again in my life some years later. i think it was something i read in the bible actually… “consider it all joy” – good times, bad times, and every time in between. i spent a lot of time pondering what that meant and if it was possible.
for me, after many years of contemplating all things joy-related, “consider it all joy” and “don’t postpone joy” have become simply a choice of attitude. will we be grateful in all moments of our life? will we be willing to find beauty, even in the midst of pain; and celebrate happiness, in our moments of bliss? it’s a conscious decision to not postpone joy, but to live in it moment by moment. and, if we do decide to live in the midst of joy, to let joy in and to let it take over, then our lives will be transformed. everything will be brighter. the present moment will be more beautiful. and our awareness will be heightened.
yesterday i went to yoga with my love – it was her first yoga class!! as we were doing some insane breathing, holding legs in the air yoga pose, our teacher began telling us about a conversation she’d recently had with someone who asked her about her purpose in life. she went on to tell us that she responded that her purpose in life is to align her life with her true self – in other words, to seek that peace within that comes with living an authentic life, of being true to who you are.
yoga is one of those things that does that for me. it allows me to slow down, to breathe, to challenge myself, to commit to the pose, to work through the pain, to push myself, to listen to my body and my soul, to be at one with myself and the divine that moves within me. it’s like connecting to all of the joy that flows within and around me.
and, while that may seem selfish – to spend time connecting to that source within me. turning inward, i will argue again and again, allows me to find peace and joy within, which, in turn, allows me to spread more peace and joy into the world.
if you’ve read my blog before, then you know that i do photo journeys as a way to tap into that joy. this month’s photo journey is a real challenge – it’s all about learning to love yourself, honoring and being true to yourself. so, every photo this month is supposed to be a selfie. tough stuff. 28 days of my mug. usch.
but, i, and quite a few others, are trudging through… posting photos of ourselves every day in order to tap into that joy that we so desperately desire. and i truly believe that finding and accepting that joy within ourselves will then allow us to share peace, light, and love with the world. and i sincerely hope that the challenge of seeing and loving ourselves as we are, will enable us to create and feel more joy than we could ever imagine. i hope that we will be able to see that joy and hope and love can seep into every single bit of our being.
it’s a simple choice, my friends. will we live life to the fullest, or not? will we always be wishing to look better, be better, feel better? will we always be wishing to go here, or do that? will we be waiting breathlessly for the future, hoping that one day we will be happy with whatever it is that we think will make us happy? or will we choose to see the happiness and joy that are a part of this very present moment?
we don’t have to postpone joy. it’s right here with us right now. we just have to slow down long enough to take in a deep breath of joy – to be aware of that one thing in a present moment that is beautiful and amazing. there’s always something. i promise.
let’s stop waiting for joy to come to us. let’s stop saying “….. and then i’ll be happy.” let’s choose joy right now. right here. and then, let’s find someone to share it with.
This is a fantastic outlook to have on life. There is no reason to postpone joy when we can find it right in the current moment. I love the picture you included as well, it really puts things in perspective!
Thank you for reading Marissa! When I saw the photo, I just knew that I had to include it. So glad you liked it!
Hi Liz, what a great way of thinking. I need to start to doing this. Thanks for a beautiful post. X
Thank you for your comment, Dayna! I am so glad that you liked the post. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Beautiful post Liz! Thank you so much for sharing this delightful reminder to slow down and breathe in joy. Love it!
Hugs of gratitude, Gina
Thank you, Gina, for reading and inspiring me with your words! Much love & peace to you.
Beautiful – love it! Through many a self-tormented moment I have been before guilty of sometimes wishing away time (which I think in turn means we’re not living the moment properly!) But in recent years, I do so try to enjoy each moment… I just wish it didn’t fly by so fast sometimes!
I love the phrase don’t postpone joy – you’re right – even now, as I type, I’m working and have a raft of to-dos, but getting them done in itself promotes a happy feel (I love ticking things off!), and all this with a coffee machine on tap, and the weird and wonderful customers coming in and out. Yep, you’re right, let’s love the joy now! I’m in!
oh, there is so much joy!! so much! what lucky girls we are. xo
Very well said! It’s all too easy to get into the habit of looking at our everyday activities as just ordinary stuff or chores, while overlooking the potential for joy in each moment. And it’s not at all selfish to enjoy little moments; after all, there’s no rule that requires ordinary things to be miserable!
you are so right!! let’s just go for it and grab all the joy we can!
Oh so true! I guess you wrote the other post on the second quote from the Dalai Lama I just responded to after you wrote this post, but slowing down, reconnecting, syncing your mind and body to the present are so important to finding peace, joy, and — for me at least — strength. I (still) forget to live in the present even without distractions so thanks for reminding me again of why its so important.