Keep Your Joys Alive

When immersed in stress and adversity, it can be easy to forget the joys we had. To stop dreaming big. To belittle how much we already invested in a dream, now long abandoned. To forget our successes, and progress made towards that dream. And partly as a result of this, joy may have become a more scarce state of being. Here are two easy ways to keep your joys alive, and to remember lost joys.

In times of joy, write down your joys, dreams, big plans and what really excites and moves you deep within. In times of darkness, reading these excerpts of your maybe long-forgotten – shunned, drowned – joys and dreams can inspire you just enough to get going again, to aim higher, to take one extra, bold leap. To revive a dream, even. It can be powerful.

Don't have a record of your past joys yet? Then remember your stories, all the things you have done. Go through these stories and when you encounter moments of joy, spend a moment to relive them. And then write them down. It may take a while, but once you get started you'll find it easier to remember your stories. And you'll likely find that you've had more moments of joy than you remembered. And more stories worth telling, too.

Another way to carry your past joys with you is to spend a few moments every day to actively keep them fresh and alive in your mind. A meditation on your joys and dreams, if you will, on what is most meaningful to you and on reliving joyous and inspiring moments.

Whether you choose to focus more on writing to remember or on keeping your joys alive is up to you. Both will benefit you, and you can easily combine them. Your benefit of doing either or both is to uplift and inspire yourself in times of darkness, dullness and despair. It works by reminding you of who you really are, where you have been, what you can achieve and where you want to go. By allowing your past joys – all joys, exuberantly extatic and profoundly serene – to move you anew and by putting your dreams right in front of you where you can't ignore them. It's a wake-up call. And remember that there's something even better than remembering your joys: spending your days making new memories of joyful moments.

May you always find the courage to fill your days with joy, through dance and beyond.