Opening Our Homes and Lives to Joy

If I think of a word to describe the past year, “joy” is certainly not the first word to come to mind. The first words to come to mind for me are challenging, unexpected and never-ending. As the stay at home orders lingered on beyond weeks into months, it became easy at times not to expect any joy or fun. And while the outside world became less available to experience joy, my home (or inner world) became even more important for seeking and living in joy. As I spent more time in the home, I began to notice things I had either ignored or taken for granted and realized that it was time to evaluate the things that I had surrounded myself with.

While we may not have choice in some aspects of our lives, it is important to intentionally choose the objects and images that we bring into our environments. I like to start with setting an intention for what I desire to experience in my home. If I focus on joy, a possible intention may be “It is my intention to release and re-organize images in my home in order to experience joy and delight.” With this intention, I walk through the home, looking (really looking) at all the images and asking if the image or object itself AND its location bring me closer to experiencing joy. I find that the longer something is in my space, the less I see it, as it blends more into the background so it is supportive for me to re-focus and reflect on what I’ve invited into my space.

In addition to releasing or shifting objects in the home, I also find that the more I can connect with nature, the more joyful I feel on a daily basis. It brings me joy to see the sun and moon rise, to see the stars shining in the night sky and to feel and hear the breeze move through the trees. I recommend adding elements of nature into your home, if you cannot spend much time outside. This can be done by adding fresh flowers or plants to a space, adding stones, seashells, or other natural objects that bring you joy. Images of nature scenes can also have a positive influence as they can elicit the same feelings as being outside in nature.

While also reflecting on what objects and images occupy your space, I also recommend taking a look at how you spend your time. What activities do you engage in during the day that bring joy into your life? Some other questions that I ask are: What do I choose to experience on a daily basis? Who do I want to BE on a daily basis? How you spend your time that allows you to experience joy and bring you closer to the life that you desire to experience?