Re-prioritising joy

and why we lose touch with it in the first place

I remember as a kid jumping on my bike and playing for hours up and down the dusty country roads with my neighbour. We’d roam around the property I grew up on as a kid in Batlow (a small country town, famous for apples, in southern New South Wales).

We’d explore, adventure, build jumps, crash our bikes, speed through the orchards and generally run amok.

Five or six hours would pass before I’d even think about the time.

It’s something kids do well – being present in the now and exploring what the moment has to offer. All done with pure bliss and curiosity.

I didn’t know it back then because I was too consumed with being a kid, but that was living in the present moment – pouring my whole heart into the then and there.

And that, my yogi friend, is the foundation of mindfulness.

Soon enough, things changed. I grew up, added different dimensions to my personality (a result of peer influences), experienced fear, took on society’s perceptions of what ‘should’ be and changed my playful attitude into one of seriousness and goal-orientated living. This is all a part of growing up. It’s natural.

But what’s not so natural is the giving up on joy part. That’s something that should be kept and cherished.

It wasn’t until one day five years ago that my mum said I was getting ‘elevens’ (apparently this is the name for the two lines you make in between the eyebrows when frowning and that everyone these days is getting Botox for) and to stop stressing. She’d caught me deep in a serious thought about something that felt very heavy and dark.

For the sake of looking good, I decided (yes – out of vanity – but hey – whatever gets you to that point, right?) to stress less. But, like anything, it takes practice. How good would it be to tell yourself, ‘OK, today marks the day I don’t stress any more.’ And like magic. Whoosh. It’s gone. Well, ultimately this can happen, but for most of us mere mortals it takes daily rituals, discipline and a few really stressful moments in which to truly test your new yogi superpowers against stress. It means:

Prioritising joy.

Carving space in our weekly schedule to dip into the things that cultivate joy.

Hanging out with friends who make us laugh and see the lighter side of life and being that friend for others.

It's the small things that really make a difference.

Have you ever noticed that the things that really bring joy to your life get put on the back burner and replaced by work and obligations?

Well. What if today were the day we started to re-prioritise for real?

You know that cheesy old line that asks, ‘How would you live today if it were your last?’ Have you actually stopped to think about it? What would you do? I like to extend it out to a week because it selfishly gives me more time to do more of the things that bring me joy. And when I tally up those things, there’s a lot.

When I first did this exercise, I was astounded at what I was missing out on. ‘Am I kidding?’ I thought. ‘Whose life am I living, anyway?’

There’s something in everybody that waits and listens until you’re completely open and in a ‘whole-body-yes’ state. It’s the only true guide you’ll ever have to following your dreams, making a real difference in this world and creating meaningful connections. And if you don’t make space to set it free, you’ll spend your whole life living by other people’s rules.

That thing is joy.

Joy is an indicator that you’re on the right track, that you’re listening to your heart and that you’re living your truth.

To get to joy, however, sometimes you have to feel the sharpness of pain. That’s just a universal truth and often, though not always, the way through. It’s part of being ‘whole’.

Watch your world change when you re-prioritise joy.

“Joy, it’s been inside us all along.”