Joy Every Day
As a new year begins it fills you with hope because you had a year full of highs and lows last year, but it is now over and you can begin a new chapter in the story of your life.
No-one knows what this year will bring.
So much of what you see in our world is unknown, you only experience a glimpse of what is really happening in the universe. But you can celebrate the joys and learnings from the past and move on with a fresh canvas and paint a new picture of how you want your life to be.
I believe you need to celebrate the joy in your life everyday, not just on New Years Eve.
This can be a heart melting moment with your children, a conversation with a stranger on the bus, witnessing a sunrise or sharing a glass of wine with a dear friend.
These moments in life make your life worth living but you are stuck on autopilot and are too busy to notice how these moments can transform your life over time and with practice you will find more happiness and less stress in your daily life.
Mindfulness is the buzz word of today with experts and celebrities endorsing the many benefits of being present and living in the moment. Jamie Oliver has just launched an app called YOU which encourages you to photograph and share the moments in life that bring you joy celebrating family, food and fun. Kikki K has partnered with Smiling Mind, a meditation app to launch a stationary range of beautiful journals to help you practice mindfulness everyday.
Any life coach will tell you that when they coach clients they start with getting them to begin with an activity to do daily on their journey to bring change into their lives. I teach yoga and mindfulness to mums kids and families and I am the author of “Mother Om”, an award winning book that guides families to cultivate more joy in their lives. Your journey can begin with a mindful cup of tea each day to take a break and reconnect back to yourself in that moment or spending quality “unplug and play” family time with no technology, just being present with each other.
I recommend to my families to create a gratitude jar as a family and to write down what you are grateful for each day. I recently read a blog by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat Pray Love) who recommends creating a happiness jar and writing down all the moments in your day that make you happy. When you focus on what brings you joy, you cultivate more joy into your life. You can get creative and make a gratitude, happiness or wishing tree. The simple act of writing it down and then reflecting on these moments brings you happiness and reduces the useless chatter in your mind. Use post-it notes or cards, or journal these moments, but again this must be a daily ritual to make the ebb and flow of life easier to manage.
So as you reflect on your journey and your New Years resolutions this year, think about what **YOU** can do everyday because we know from little seeds, big trees can grow and this small change can transform into a habit that can be life changing for you and your family.