Joy – Again

One of those JOYOUS moments.

I’ve written about Joy in the past — the joy of life, the joy of small children, the joy of teaching, the joy of singing — all kinds of things in which I find joy.  Maybe it’s because of the type of childhood I had.  I hate to say “filled with strife” – because there were lots of moments of joy and happiness.  I also hate to say it was a “rough” or “tough” childhood because I always ate, I had a roof over my head and I knew I was loved.  Let’s just say my childhood had a lot of challenges – as many childhoods do.  Where I was lucky is that I was taught to find joy in the small things, in the everyday things.  I don’t need a big promotion, a lot of money or an award to feel joy.  I feel joy in being able to experience life – the good, the bad and the ugly.  As I’ve admitted before, I am an eternal optimist and believe that every challenge, every failure, every rainy day yields something positive.  I’m not saying this belief hasn’t been tested many times — but I think I have always found something which makes the moment worth living.

I recently starting following a blog about a young man who quit his job to walk The El Camino (The Way) – something I hope to do myself someday.  In reading his blog the other day, I think he encapsulated everything I feel about life and joy – “Focus on what you have in the present and realize how wonderful things are. And if you fail at this, maybe it’s time to rethink what you’re currently doing.”

You don’t have to walk “The Way” to figure this out – just start LIVING and stop HOPING for something great to happen — because usually something GREAT has already happened and you will miss it if you don’t FOCUS ON TODAY.

A Blog Worth Visiting – Life is a Camino