Dear Readers,

The holidays are just around the corner and preparing now will make these holidays the best yet.  I am offering the Holiday Resilience Kit workshop November 12th at noon via zoom.  I will share tools on how to navigate difficult social situations and bring cheer to your home so your holidays can be calm and bright.   

Sign up here for a heartwarming experience!  Cost $25

Homelessness and Joy

I teach Living in the Gift at the local homeless shelter. This week we focused on Happiness and Joy. As I walk towards the shelter there were people sitting outside smoking and listening to music.  I say ‘Hi’ to a couple of friends and they say “I’ll be in for your class”.  I buzz the door to be let in, where the staff are helping a couple of new guest check in and have their backpack searched for weapons and drugs.  I enter the cafe, where there were roughly 50 people sitting around.  Some are asleep and snoring because they had to sleep in hard chairs the night before. 

I begin by asking who remembers what Living in the Gift is. It is a mindset best explained by imagining a pie with a slice missing.  The pie is all the good stuff and the missing sliver is all the stinking thinking, negative emotions and bad experiences. 

“Today we are going to talk about the difference between Happiness and Joy.”  I draw two columns and label them Happy and Joy.  I ask for descriptions of each. Together we build a list of qualities.  Happiness is emotional and fleeting.  It is based on what is happening around us and comes and goes. Addicts crave the happy high with drugs, alcohol, eating, social media scrolling and more. But all happiness is temporary and leaves us back where we were before the high.   

Joy is a spiritual gift, cultivated internally.  Joy is steady and is present no matter what is happening. It is a guide and help when life is tough and wonderful in its power to heal.  I was surprised that some people have the definitions reversed.

Together we talked about the mind, body and spirit parts of joy and how it nurtures us. We listed 5 ways to cultivate joy by rewiring our brain and body to increase our joy.

1. Gratitude: Daily write or speak 3 new things for which we are grateful
2. Exercise which increases endorphins and mood
3. Meditation – calms us and helps us connect with the present moment
4. Journaling about positive events to reinforce the positive 
5. Random acts of kindness – you help someone, know you matter and make them feel better and there is hope for a better life. 

Cultivating joy, done for 21 days, will change the culture of this homeless center. After 5 months of teaching Living in the Gift, the transformation has already begun. There is more joy, compassion, empathy and helping hands at the shelter.  We ended our class by singing and dancing to the YMCA Song.  Crank up your joy by singing and dancing along.  Have a blast?  

Be bold, aim high, work hard and have fun!