The importance of joy-keeping

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” 
― Rumi

Hey sis, first of all, I didn´t know for a while who I wanted to gear these posts to. You might be thinking what am I talking about? Well, I heard a long time ago that when you are writing a blog you should have a specific audience in mind – your tribe, and you can do that by focusing on one person in particular that embodies that tribe. That way, you would have a coherent voice throughout your blog, instead of it being like you are talking to your mother one day, to your teacher the next, to your boss and etc. Anyway, all this to say that, while on this journey of really finalizing my focus and applying consistency and intention with the knowledge I have gained throughout the years of what works for me and what doesn´t work – I have decided that all future posts would be inspired by the audience and belonging I feel with my sisters.

I am the eldest of four Ugandan girls and if you know me, you know how much my family and my sisters really mean to me. I have enjoyed the role of being a big sister – though I sometimes wished I too had a big sister who could help out and pave ways for me, warn me about stupid things before I do them or after I do them just so I don´t feel alone in my experiences – I am glad that I have the opportunity to at least being that to my own sisters but also to the community of sisters of the world.

Now that we have that out the way, let´s talk about joy and the importance of joy and keeping that cup overflowing. Joy like anything in your life – won´t fill itself up, you actively have to put in the time daily and purpose to seek and create your own pot of joy. The good thing about joy, however, is that it trickles down into all other things in your life if you keep it around and take good care of it.

Okay, but what is joy anyway right? Like how do I know when I have joy because sometimes we might know about a word but not actually actually understand it right?

The next closest synonym to joy is the word delight, and isn´t that such a beautiful word in itself?

Delight.

Don´t you love words that feel like they mean when you say them out loud? I choose to use the word delight because of how we not only usually find delight in something or feel delighted or delightful – but because it also has the word light in it. For me, that is what joy feels like, like light and flowy and bright and yellow and smiley and hopeful. To be joyful is to find pleasure where you are, to be present and find or create a playful attitude in your life.

For me, joy-keeping can look like wearing a fun outfit or piece of adornment that just lights up my day. It can look like making myself a treat for breakfast or lunch or whenever – it can look like homemade vegan chocolate cake. It can look like spending a morning drawing before I get other more serious work done, it can look like singing out loud to my favourite tunes or taking a digital dance class instead of punishing myself with some of those more sadistic workouts meant to make you feel accomplished for keeping your heartbeat at the verge of a heart attack lol. I can´t.

It can look like building up my Pinterest boards with visions of beauty and joy and wishes. It´s picking wildflowers to keep in the house. It is googling “yellow-aesthetic” images. Doing what I love or loving what I do. It´s laughter with loved ones or putting a smile on their faces. Puppies. Joy-keeping for me is now about not seeing joy or pleasure or delight as something I get to rewards myself with here and there but rather as a way of life. Like happiness or peacefulness or calmness. I see it as an essential part of my day and daily practice, like drinking water, or getting dressed, I put it on my wishlist/to-do-list of the day and I make an effort to bring joy to activities I do or do something I know I will find great pleasure and delight in doing. Anything that makes me glow up with glee, I simply aim to do more of. Cause I am worth it right? Yes!

Since this is a new practice for me too – one I have had to seriously add to my life philosophy and values and what I consider to be a thriving life – I too have to consistently make an effort to not slack on it – not to fall back into my thought pattern of feeling like I need to deserve delight and pleasure but rather to focus on fun and creative ways of adding it to my everyday walk of life. I don´t want pleasure nor happiness to be something I can look forward to someday, I want it today to enjoy it right now, on the journey and not as an unforeseen destination somewhere.

So, yes sis, this is where I currently am on my thrivingly blooming and abundance journey. This is also day 10 /365 and lessons I have gained so far might be boring because they are simply repetition/reminders to be honest, but here they are anyway as reminders: – Be serious about your joy-keeping, start your day right and aim to end it right too. Practice daily compassion and forgiveness. Getting 4 out of 7 things planned for the day done is still progress. When you are struggling, call a sister friend, lean on community and let new light to be breathed into you. Do with intention, passion and consistency and the rest will follow :).

So, basically that is what I wanted to share with you this soul Sunday, and please, if you have other ways of keeping joy alive and kicking in your own life, please do share below and don´t be a stranger on this digital oasis of girls just trying to live that blooming moisturized life.

As always ya´ll, take good care of yourself, invest in a better relationship with yours truly and I hope now and always, life finds you blooming joyfully and with such delight wherever it might plant you. You got this sis.