I recently saw another mom on the playground that I haven’t seen since the start of Covid. I asked her how she was doing and she said, “you know … busy … doing nothing.” My jaw dropped, because this has been exactly how I have felt the past 8 months. How is it possible that I could feel overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time?
Lots of weird and uncomfortable feelings have surfaced during this pandemic, but no matter how overwhelming or underwhelming things are, I try to stay focused on JOY.
I have discovered that there are 2 types of JOY:
1) The joy that you plan – The unapologetic, scheduled activities or events that light up your spirit.
2) The joy that is unplanned – The unexpected moments that connect you to yourself and the whole entire Universe.
Both types of joy bring health and happiness to a human life, but both are not always accessible during a global pandemic, while your kids are remote learning at home.
For me, the 1st type of JOY is live music, yoga classes, coffee/tea dates with friends, reading poetry, writing and journaling, hiking in nature, art museums and traveling. With less time, energy, and money, I have to stay open to more of the 2nd kind of JOY … the moments when I notice my kids being kind to each other, the way the mornings light shines through my leaded glass windows and makes little rainbows in my dining room, the smell of my boyfriend’s clothes, my grandma’s laugh, the way a poem can give me butterflies in my belly, the spontaneous snuggles from my son, and the mature and wondrous questions about the world I get from my daughter.
This kind of joy and these kinds of moments are always available to us. All we have to do is pay attention and open up our eyes and hearts to really see how beautiful life is!️
Be well,