Sometimes I wake up in the darkness of the early morning and feel the weight of the world sitting on my chest. I pull my quilt up to my chin and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to escape the heavy feelings of loneliness that hover over me. Unfortunately, it's usually not until the sun rises and I'm walking and talking and surrounded by cheerful students that the cloud dissipates.
It doesn't happen often, and still I don't know what triggers the darkness I feel. I'm sure I'm not the only one though, and thinking about it, I remembered an article I read.
A week or two ago, Meg posted this on her blog. It may possibly change my life.
She writes about joy-triggers -- the tiny things in life that bring a smile to her face. I like the idea of focusing on small things that really matter, instead of letting the weight of the world pull me down on those hard days.
"It's not enough to be productive, it's not enough to be successful, I need my joy triggers. Joy triggers are not rational. Bring them into your daily life, because I really believe that ... it's all a part of how we can bring balance into our life... getting joy from simple (but beautiful) things -- scents and sights and tastes." Arianna Huffington
Mine?
The sweet juice from honeysuckle. My mom's baguettes. Recognizing a constellation in the night sky. Vanilla frappachinos from Starbucks. My car's seat warmers {or as my little sister calls them, "heat seaters"}. Acorns. Woodsmoke. Perfume. Feathers. Sending a letter through the post. Waking up with my hair looking tamely tousled enough to not get out the hot tools. Reruns of The Office. Good eyelash days. Zumba.
Now tell me...
What are yours?
The smell of birthday cake in the oven. The perfume I wore as a teenager. My favorite gray sweater with the holes in it. A freshly made bed. Anything by Green Day. My brother's laugh. The slight rocking of a vinyl record playing on a turntable. Kyle's chin stubble. Any used bookstore in the history of ever. Scratch that. Any bookstore ever. The wet tree smell after it rains. Old love letters.
ReplyDeleteI love this...that quote is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI have really been feeling/learning this lately. I am living in the middle of a great big beautiful city. BUt at the same time it is so easy to feel alone and away from the world.
My joy triggers are: exercising, fresh fruit and salad, warm tea, writing on my blog, photography, calling family, and reading.
great post! I needed this today :-)
ReplyDeleteMy joy triggers are good chocolate(especially salted caramel chocolates),Mexican coke,photoshopping pics of my 3 kiddos,crafting,thrifting(especially cute,cheap vintage things),texts from friends,calls from my Mom,anything pastel,pinterest, youtube videos of my favorite singers or beauty gurus, a clean house, blue skies :-)
xoxo! Britt
This is a great way to think of it. Little things that make you smile. And what a beautiful list! Some of mine include flannel sheets, coffee, making things, thrifting, that perfect shade of red lipstick, reading, sitting by the fire, playing with a dog. And I'm totally with you on the Office reruns :)
ReplyDelete