love thursday: everyday joy

My friend Brené said two more things in her speech on Tuesday night that have stuck with me.  They are:

1.  Living a joyful life is not about living your life 24/7 in a happy state of mind.  She says, and I think she's correct, that being happy all the time would be like living with a constant floodlight in your face -- ultimately annoying and downright exhausting.  Instead, she says, living a joyful life is sort of similar to following the path along a string of twinkle lights -- that really, a joyful life is simply a series of happy moments, and that the trick to living a joyful life is being gratefully in the moment when you are experiencing a happy time; and then, when you're experiencing a down time (the space between the first twinkle light and the next), you live in the present knowledge that the down time, too, shall pass, and another happy moment is just around the corner.  Also,

2.  Joy and gratitude are inextricably intertwined -- true joy is impossible without gratitude.

I believe both of these wholeheartedly.  In fact, those two points are exactly the reason that I blog the way I do:  to capture the joyful happy moments, to be present and grateful when they occur, and to remind myself that there's more joy ahead, during those times when I'm not feeling so great.  And if you think of it, joy -- just like love -- is everywhere.  You need only look.

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Happy Love Thursday, everyone.  Please feel free to leave your stories or links to your words or images of love in the comments below.

And today, when you experience a joyful or love-filled moment -- and I promise, however tiny or fleeting it might be, you will -- be present in it, and enjoy it gratefully.

Song:  God bless the child by Jill Scott