Finding Joy in the Journey

Can I actually? Can I have joy here..? Even in this place?

Looking down at my screensaver that reads “you can have joy where you are right now”, while in quarantine due to rather unfortunate circumstances of a positive covid test right before my first college game day and birthday, I'm really questioning the validity of that statement. While this may seem small in the grand scheme of things and I’m extremely fortunate that I am feeling okay and able to fight it off, it still really sucks. Quarantine has never been, and probably never will be good for me. I know most people aren’t a fan of it, but I literally get stuck in the biggest funk whenever I have to. I can’t even participate in the fun baking trends, Tik Tok challenges, or even binge-watching a show, I simply sit and sulk. I stare at the walls and wait for them to move. I have so many things that I’m passionate about and could use this time to do; write, edit videos, plan trips, etc. The thing is, I can’t bring myself to do any of them in quarantine. But on other days, when I have no real reason to stay home other than it’s rainy and the sun is nowhere to be found, I love staying home. I turn on the trusty Do Not Disturb phone settings, throw on my favorite hand me downs, rewatch One Tree Hill, and edit a nostalgic summer video - fully immersing myself in the lazy day vibes. We see this same pattern in more common conditions too, for example, “One day traffic really bothers you. Another day you are listening to a great song or podcast, you’re in a great mood, and the traffic doesn’t bother you. Is it the circumstance or the state of mind that produces how you feel? If it was the circumstance, your response to traffic would be the same, 100% of the time.” - John Gordon, The Power of a Positive Team. SO what does any of this even mean…??? When I first read that earlier today, I knew I wanted to write a post about the power of our way of thinking. I knew I wanted to find the right words to explain that joy is available everywhere, in the darkness, in the most annoying of circumstances, in the stages of life that are confusing; it’s anywhere and everywhere. But in order to do that, I knew I had to first understand it myself. How in the world can I have joy in the sitting, laying, whining, and wishing that is my day right now when there seems to be so much joy elsewhere…?? Outside at the tailgates, in the restaurants with your friends, in the stadium screaming the warchant. It was a struggle trying to find an answer, but I think we start with this: think about what you’re thinking about. If you’re thinking about what could’ve been and imagining things any other way than how they are, you’re wasting your time! I know that seems harsh, but the grass is always going to look greener on the other side. Have you ever worked so hard for something you thought you wanted so badly, and when you got it you realized it’s not all it’s made up to be? It happens all the time. In that time, while you're chasing after something so blindly, you miss all the magic that is now!!

Missing out doesn’t exist! Because you can’t miss out on something that is meant for you. Read that again, you can’t miss out on something that is truly meant for you. If it was meant to be, it would have been. It’s as simple as that. Throwing it back to LIFE retreat again for a quick second, out of all of the wisdom poured into me there, this particularly stuck out: JOMO. The joy of missing out. Instead of wishing for a different outcome, have jomo. JOMO looks like knowing that everywhere you go or more importantly where you don’t go serves a purpose. It looks like being reminded that you are always right where you are supposed to be. I hope that someone out there reading this right now needed to hear this. I hope it helps you, because maybe, just maybe, that’s the purpose of my “unlucky” circumstances. And just to be clear, this translates sooo much farther than to just me missing fun events, it goes for all things in every stage of life where you feel out of place, like you haven’t been yourself lately, or that you’re missing out. Remember that rejection is God’s protection. So if you don’t get the job, if you don’t make the cut, or if you simply don’t get invited, take heart and know that there is something better coming your way. You may not be able to see it now, but you will in time. To put it in better words, “See, in our mountain-top experiences, we can see our lives more clearly. We can see that the valleys led us to the mountaintops, the hike was worth it, and the sun has always been close by.” - Grace Valentine, Is It Just Me? Things have a tendency to make perfect sense in hindsight, but I urge you to choose joy in the confusion. Life itself is mostly the journey, the dance from one place to another, so don’t miss out! Crossing the finish line is fun and all, but what you really remember is the miles it took to get there, that’s what makes it all worth it. So I know my posts can get a little all over the place, and that’s just me! Even as I get better at writing, that probably won’t change. I’ll still put commas in the wrong spot and ramble on about 20 different topics hoping to somehow still get my point across. I’m a little of everything, a piece of here while wanting to go there, a collection of the people I’ve met and the places I’ve seen, but what I really want you to take away from this post is that you can have joy here. No matter where you are, there is joy to be found there. Happiness is an inside job. Shift your thoughts, fix your gaze, and be where your feet are. The only thing we have control over is our mind. We can’t control the weather, what other people say about us, or what call the referee makes, but we can control how we think about it. So think about what you think about.

Okay that’s all :D!! Think about it, live it!! Go be awesome!! I love you all!!!