Tomorrow is never guaranteed. I’m in no way a sports fan, but for many who are, the loss of a great basketball player this week has reminded them of their mortality. We don’t expect the young, or the happy, or the famous to pass away unexpectedly. Maybe that’s because those types of people are living their best lives, or at least appear to be. Death is the great equalizer, and very few will know when it’s coming. So take this reminder of your own mortality as a wake-up call to live your best life now and appreciate everything and everyone in it.
How often have you heard the question- what would you do if you knew you only had a day, or a month, or a year to live? Most people will say to spend time with friends, have parties, travel, and do what makes them happy. Well, why aren’t we doing those things more often now? We so often forget to make time for joy and connection as we run on the treadmill of our day-to-day routines. Yes, we have to earn a living. Yes, we have to wash our clothes and clean the house. Yes, we have to do all the things necessary to survive from day to day, but are we also taking the time to thrive? Do we make time to bring joy into our lives? Do we take time to be our best and feel our best?
Finding joy every day is easy. We are surrounded by beauty in nature. We have happy memories we can recall. We can learn to find joy in even small tasks. To create joy is not as easy. Creating joy means taking action. Stopping to smell that rose or pet that dog or call an old friend requires some effort, but it will be worth the effort to create some joy or at least a bit of happiness. Small actions can bring a little more joy to your life each day. The most difficult thing to do is to be the joy. Committing to making each day the best it can be will mean you then are bringing joy into the world. When you do what you love, you will naturally radiate joy to others. When you can get lost in a moment or make the best of any situation, then others will see your bliss. This is why we never expect the young, the happy, and sometimes the famous to die young. They bring us joy. They do what they love, and in doing so, we see that joy and it lifts us up. So when they pass, we feel a little bit of loss, because that little spark of joy is gone.
Are you finding joy, creating joy, or being joy? What can you do to bring more joy to the world? When you pass, will people feel the loss of your spark? In the Franklin Covey training method, you imagine your retirement party (in essence, the passing of your work life) and you picture what people will say about you. Did you have a positive impact on them? Did you spend enough time doing what you loved? Will you remember all the emails and reports, or will you remember the relationships and the celebrations? Being the joy takes work. But it’s work that you love. It’s simply doing more of what you love! Live in the present moment, it’s the only one you have. Find the joy right now. Create some joy right now. And be the joy as often as you can.
I love each and every one of you who takes the time to read these blog posts. It brings me so much joy to hear that they inspire you. I feel joy when I write them, even if I did put it off once again until late on Tuesday night to write it (sorry hubby, I’m coming to bed now).
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