chickpeameatball

Hey there!

I drafted this post on Friday and was set to edit and publish on Saturday. Then the U.S. bombed Iran, and I thought how inappropriate it would be to discuss anything joyous, how ill-suited to share my troubles, be that they are minuscule to the injustices occurring every day in the United States and across the world.

The world is scary for many. Bad things are happening. These are facts which can not be changed by my blog posts. In many ways, it is a “privilege” for me to write this, to read and watch as others are more directly impacted.

I almost left this post in my drafts folder, but (obviously) I didn’t for very specific reasons. I am not a news outlet. I am not a politician. I am not a celebrity or “influencer” with a vast platform. I am a writer. I am a human who has hard days. I cycle through grief. I am a human who struggles with motivation and who is driven. I love strong. I feel rage. I’m powerless and capable. I am scared for the future. I am hopeful for the future. I am a military spouse. I am a crunchy granola girl. 

I am many things, and so are you.

5 Joyous Things was created from every part of myself. It was inspired by a difficult week—a week where I felt the lows more than the highs. Therefore, it is an act of speaking from a place of distress to a place of joy.

I returned home from visiting my in-laws on the mainland and felt like I was recovering from an obscure time warp, trying to wrestle down my schedule and routine. My mother-in-law is sick. We received news of relocation coming. Over 250 million acres of public land are eligible for sale, including critical habitats for wildlife. And, that’s the abstract version.

My attempt to interrupt my depressive thought spiral was to write a list of things that made me happy from the previous week. I needed this list of joyous things not to subscribe to some version of toxic positivity but rather to feel something other — to be graced with both sides of life’s coin.

When I was done, I figured my list might also give you some joy or inspire you to write down your own list (if you do, I would love to read it).

Here are my 5 Joyous Things of the Week:

1. Lynyrd Skynyrd – FRee Bird Video

I watched Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird music video for the first time this week.

Here me out, on the surface, the Free Bird music video insights a particular brand of sadness. And that brand, which I would like to sell you on, is not the sadness of loss but rather the joy of a life filled with love.

I’m sometimes teased for the way I swim in sorrow, particularly in my writing. That is not to say sorrow brings me joy, not at all. That is to say, if you dissect sorrow, specifically concerning grief or the loss of someone you love, there is joy to be found, without a doubt. I embrace this feeling, not always because I want to, but because there is no other way I know how to be alive. My sentiment is not original. Many before me have believed this, and author Kahlil Gibran captured the combined experience of joy and sorrow eloquently in The Prophet:

“When you are sorrowful look again into your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” ― Kahlil Gibran

I may not be the first to tell you sorrow is proof joy existed. But I will remind you of this notion today.

How can we not see grief as a form of privilege, a privilege to experience a connection to life so profoundly we know, in our bones, what it is to truly love?

2. Home Grown Super Hero

My husband moved 3 turtles from the road this week! And my father-in-law wrote this poem:

I had to go to work today.
I saved a turtle along the way.
He was sitting on the center line.
For him I knew this would not be fine.
I stopped my car and the got out.
I sent the turtle on a different route.

3. This: Quote from Author Barbara Kingsolver

“The greatest thing about getting older is that you have all these versions of yourself still inside you. Every decade that I’ve had is the best decade yet. Whatever I would tell my younger self is nothing that she’d listen to! She would just keep making her own mistakes, which is good, because making your mistakes is what leads to wisdom, like scar tissue — you have to live to get it.”

Barbara Kingsolver, from article by Big Salad

4. Actually Obsessed (With this Interview)

Pedro Pascal and Dakota Johnson “Off the Cuff” Vogue Interview. Don’t ask me how many times I plan to watch the Coqui clip, for in the words of Cady Heron, the limit does not exist.

5. A July “Challenge” is born

For New Year’s this year, my sister had a great idea to craft bingo cards instead of vision boards for 2025. One item on my New Year’s Bingo Card is to watch the sunrise for 30 consecutive days. Why 30 days? Feasibly, it feels like a well-rounded experiential number, both providing a sense of accomplishment (with a numerical challenge) and, of course, delight from sight itself.

I am challenging myself to watch the sunrise or sunset every day in July (31 days!). Are you in?

A Note: This post was 100% human-made. At no time did I use A.I to write this article. Images you see on this post were captured by me (or my partner) unless otherwise stated (credited/linked). Thank you for reading! 🙂