Follow Your Bliss
“Life can be complicated, but happiness is simple.” So begins the book Finding Joy by Mac Anderson. No matter how bad the economy is or what heartache you are suffering, there remains deep inside of you a flicker of joy that can be ignited with little money or effort. Here are seven ways that you can find joy in the tough times of your life.
1. Walk Outside Before Starting Your Day
A few weeks ago, I cancelled home delivery of our local newspaper because seeing the constant bad news headlines cast a wave of negative energy into my day before I even ate breakfast. I don’t miss the newspaper. But, to my surprise, I’ve discovered that I miss that momentary walk outside to retrieve the paper from the ground. I hadn’t realized before how joyful it is to breathe the outdoor air, hear the birds chirping, and see the blue sky. Psychic Marin ext. 5113 reminds us “…when seeking a spiritual connection, returning to nature is a good place to start.”
2. Use an Inspirational Daily Calendar
For several years, I had started each day by reading the new page in my Mary Engelbreit desktop calendar. Each page displayed a short inspirational quote and her colorful artwork. Then one year I was so busy at year’s end that all of the Mary Engelbreit calendars had sold out before I could buy one. Disappointed, but still in need of a calendar, I bought a plain one. With each passing day of the new year, I felt more scattered. By February, I realized that I was missing my daily dose of Mary Engelbreit. Then a minor miracle happened: I stumbled upon a gift shop in town that I hadn’t noticed before. Apparently, not many other people had found the store, either, because there was still a supply of Mary Engelbreit calendars — and they were on sale. Finding joy in tough times can be as easy as choosing a calendar with artwork or quotations that inspire you. Get personalized advice, contact a psychic today!
3. Appreciate the Ordinary
In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey has the opportunity to see how life would have been if he hadn’t been born. After realizing the significance of his seemingly boring and unsuccessful life, he approaches life with sheer joy, despite the grim possibility of landing in jail on Christmas Eve for a crime that he didn’t commit. While looking for his family to tell them the good news of his rebirth, the knob at the end of his stairway banister comes off in his hand. Instead of cursing it, as he had done many times before, he kisses it and says how much he loves it.
Look for the extraordinary in the ordinary to connect with the joy of “ordered” life. For example, one of my favorite memories of my late mother is that of her standing at our kitchen counter, buttering toast for breakfast. When imbued with joy, the mundane becomes sacred.
4. Count Your Blessings
Perhaps you’ve heard the proverb: “I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.” Whenever you catch yourself feeling sad because of what you lack during your tough times, remember that there is always someone else who is worse off than you. Be grateful for your blessings. Psychic Martisse ext. 5335 explains: “By focusing on the joyous things that come our way, big or small, we break into the path leading towards more and more of the same and allowing our desires to come to us at a more accelerated pace.”
5. Listen to Your Favorite Music
Whether you enjoy rocking out or smooth jazzing, the rhythm of your favorite music will resonate with your primal self, the you that existed before you learned language. Neurologists report that our brains are wired to feel rhythm even before we leave our mother’s womb. It’s no wonder that videos of dancing babies rank high on YouTube. We all want to remember the joyous connection between music and our soul.
6. Sniff Your Favorite Scents
The association between our sense of smell and memories is so strong that a particular test for Alzheimer’s disease that measures the loss of smell as an indicator of loss of memory turns out to be 80 percent accurate. To feel joy instantly, take a whiff of a pleasant scent, especially one that reminds you of happy times. For me, cinnamon and pine retrieve the joy of Christmastime.
7. Help Someone
Research supports what you might already know from personal experience: helping others makes both the helper and the person being helped feel good. If you have time to do organized volunteer work, that’s great. But even if you don’t, you can still feel the joy of helping by performing simple acts of kindness, such as holding the door open for someone whose arms are full or alerting someone who has dropped something.
For more ideas on how to connect with your inner joy when times are tough around you, call one of our compassionate psychics.
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8 thoughts on “7 Ways to Find Joy in Tough Times”
@Anne, I agree with what you said about smiling. There was a DJ on a radio station in Los Angeles years ago who used to sign off by saying, “If you see someone without a smile today, give them one of yours.”
I like to smile at strangers and especially when they smile back at me. It makes me feel like it’s a better world.
SO TRUE $$$$ is that what it has come down 2 ?? yes it has , being a survivor , i learned a long time ago 2 treasury the smaller stuff , 2 ignore the bad thoughts & not 2 sweat the bigger stuff .. like the saying goes ‘ try 2 stop 2 smell the flowers a little bit more ‘it does work 4 me … bc it is best 2 remember , someone ELSE is always in a more dire situation/way than what you maybe in @ the time !! inspiration stories are always the best kind of stories , bc the person sharing them well , they have lived 2 TELL/then they SHARED their heart’s/ life experience with the next 1 so they can learn from IT !! ( :
@Gina Rose, I’ve wondered the same thing. Whenever I do watch TV newscasts, my favorite part is that one little story, usually inspirational or funny, that they save until the last minute of the broadcast.
I must admit that its the doom and gloom that sells papers and new channels, they in particular end on a ” and finally the good news bla bla bla” which is nothing compared to the negative news that dominated the earlier programme! grate advice bin the negatives in our lives!
Dear Teresa,
everything you have said in your 7 ways to be happy , is exactly what I have always believed in and said at all times, but not many people understand this if only the world followed these theories , we will be living in a better world.
I was told once that I cant save the world . I wish I had the authority to do so, for mankind.
Being kind and caring does not cost money, people think money is everything that you cant do anything without money.
Thank you
God Bless Therese
ps….
Theresa, I’ve often wondered what type of ratings a TV channel would receive, if it had a daily newscast that ONLY highlited the good and generous things people do for mankind and animals and/or the planet…etc.
Sometimes it is just the simple things,you cannot buy,that give us peace in just being.
Yeah, I cancelled my newspaper home delivery too for the same reason.
Nice article, Theresa.