There’s a quiet confidence that radiates from a woman who knows how to create joy for herself.
Not the kind that requires a big budget or a trip to Europe. I mean the kind of joy that lives in the details—coffee in your favorite mug, a brisk walk in your favorite neighborhood, the exact perfume to reflect your mood. Simple joys are not lesser joys. In fact, I’m starting to believe they’re the only ones that actually matter.
We live in a culture that tells us joy is found in the big moments of life (usually when a woman gets married or pops out a baby) Milestones, vacations, life changes, “big news” you can post online and be celebrated for. But waiting for life to get exciting before expecting joy from your day to day can get depressing. It leaves you stuck waiting for the happiness to come, tied to an engagement ring and keys to a fancy new house. What about the life we live each day? What we usually call the “in between” moments, but it’s actually the majority of how we spend our time.
Creating simple, daily joys isn’t some whimsical ideal, it’s practical. It’s choosing to make life beautiful even though it’s hard, ordinary, or uncertain. It’s a revolt against a culture that says you must earn your joy. This bold, simple choice says, “I’m allowed to enjoy my life right now, not wait for later.”
This isn’t difficult, but it requires you to do it on purpose.
Simple joy might look like lighting the “good” candle at the end of a long day because it smells good and reminds you of the perfect fall day. It might look like taking yourself to the bookstore, putting your phone away, and wandering through the aisles with no agenda. It might be a standing date with yourself to get outside, touch grass, or feel the sun on your skin. Or maybe it’s finding ways to romanticize your Tuesday errands—playing your favorite playlist in the car, getting the good oat milk at the store (it’s only an extra dollar), and calling a friend on the way home. For me, it was recently investing in gorgeous new dishes.
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