Finding Joy in the Moment
I learned a valuable lesson the other day from my four year old daughter. So, let me paint you a picture. It is 90 something degrees outside with no wind, feels like 100 degrees. I am extremely exhausted sweating like a pig, standing in line for 40 plus minutes with 100 plus people standing next to me all waiting for a 5 minute ride. I am ready to jump in a pool or bed either one would work for me at that moment. I was ready for the day to end. My patience was running thin I kept looking ahead of us, thinking "Okay there looks like about 40 people ahead of us now". "If the ride fits 10 people, then we have 4 more rides ahead of us till we go." I kept doing the math as people moved up. I kept thinking of the future ahead either the ride, the pool I get to jump in after we got through at the park, or the bed I got to sleep in that night. As my patience grew thinner and more sweat dripped down my forehead and back I heard a small voice. I looked down and saw my four year old dripped in just as much sweat as me or more singing with a smile on her face. She was singing a song she made up about bubbles as she waved her bubble wand around in the air. I stopped my future thinking and just watched her for a moment. I noticed her joy was contagious. As people walked by the stopped for a moment to watch her or play in the bubbles she was spreading around. Some walked past or held on to their angry face as they sped by. One girl even stopped and danced in the bubbles with my daughter. I thought about how we all were in similar circumstances of heat, exhaustion, waiting, hunger, and more. However, even though our circumstances were all similar, some chose to be angry, some chose to look at the future like me, and others chose to be joyful in the moment. I realized that no matter the circumstance we can chose how we react. We can worry and focus on the circumstance or we can find the joy in the moment. I said earlier that I learned this valuable lesson of finding joy in the moment, but I think I am constantly learning this lesson in my 35 years of living. My daughter is a constant remind to find the song in the moment and dance to it! I hope you find the joy in whatever circumstance you are facing today.
Thank you for reading!
PS: There is a book I am reading if you need help finding the joy in the moment. It is called "Fighting Back with Joy" By: Margaret Feinberg.