Monday Musings: Finding Joy
/I, like many of us, wake up and check Facebook and see more headlines and horrific news stories. I feel like the world is burning down around my ears all the time. On top of it, and I’m going to be honest here, money’s really tight, I haven’t had time to do the dishes in a week, I’m impressed that I have clean clothing to wear to work, there’s something sticky on my living room floor, and I’ve also started school full time (because I didn’t have enough to do).
It’s a lot.
And I’m not alone. Collectively, we are feeling more and more stressed out – the ends that barely made it are not quite making it anymore, and everything feels tense and scary. And, despite the constant communication, we feel alone in all this. How can I have people over to my house when the kitchen is not just messy, but at high grossness level of mess? How can I take time to visit with friends when I haven’t had any time with my partner? Not only am I freaked out about money ALL THE TIME, but I’m also so afraid that everyone’s going to judge me because we ran out of money again this month, that I just don’t talk about it to anyone.
Secret is: we are all going through this.
How do we stop it?
Two things:
Talk about it. Start with close friends. Open up about how much it sucks to be in debt (and most of us are!). Talk about how you can’t catch up on the laundry. Discuss how you’re afraid people are going to judge you about whatever you’re afraid people are going to judge you about. If you speak up and voice what isn’t being said, you’ll give space for others to do the same. You don’t have to have answers or solutions, but making that connection and that space has stress relieving effects. For me, knowing I’m not alone is so huge – when I can call my best friend and say, “OMG. I just had a bill go into collections and it really sucks, and I’m feeling afraid of it, and there is literally nothing I can do about it” Is incredibly freeing. Names have power. Let’s name these things out loud.
Find joy. Trust me, I know it’s trite. But, hear me out. Take a couple moments each day (I do this first thing in the morning), and think about the day before. Think about what made you happy, or gave you a momentary smile. It can be big things, but it doesn’t have to be. Something that gives me joy is writing with a certain pen I have. I just love it and I get excited when I get to write with it. I really love having my daily coffee. Finding joys – small and big – can be a huge stress reliever. It helps to get out of the muck of the day for just a moment.
What are the small joys that you find in your day? Share with us in the comments!
Kat is a yoga teacher (RYT200), student, partner, mother, and all- around badass woman. She is honored to share her Monday Musings with her YogaQuest Community.