Let Joy Have a Turn

Although my birthday prompted the reflection, joy doesn’t belong to one month, one celebration, or one season of life. Any month of the year can be lived in moments of joy if we are willing to notice and welcome them.

July is my birthday month, which always gives me a reason to pause and take stock – not only of the years that have passed, but of how I want to live the year ahead.

This year, one thought keeps returning:

Let joy have a turn.

Life gives worry plenty of airtime. Problems demand our attention. Responsibilities line up before we’ve finished our morning coffee, and the steady stream of troubling news can make it feel almost irresponsible to be happy.

But joy is not irresponsible.

It is not denial, avoidance, or a refusal to acknowledge what is happening in the world. Joy is one of the ways we remain strong enough to live in it. Most of us know how to brace ourselves for difficulty. We prepare, protect, plan, and persevere. These are valuable skills. I’ve relied on every one of them at some point in my life. But after a while, bracing can become a way of life. We become so accustomed to waiting for the next problem that we forget to notice when something wonderful is standing right in front of us.

A beautiful morning.

The sun is shining.

Birds are chirping.

An unexpected joyful phone call.

A meal shared with someone we love.

A song that brings back a happy memory.

A laugh that arrives at exactly the right moment.

These things may appear small, but they are not insignificant. They are the moments that restore us.

We sometimes tell ourselves we will relax when everything is settled. We will celebrate when the work is finished, the problem is solved, the uncertainty has passed, or the world makes a little more sense. That could be a very long wait. Life rarely clears the entire stage and announces, “Everything is perfect now. You may begin enjoying yourself.”

Joy usually enters while something else remains unfinished. It slips in through the side door. Our job is to let it stay.

That takes courage because joy asks us to lower our guard. It invites us to be present instead of rehearsing what might go wrong. It reminds us that a difficult chapter does not have to consume the entire story. There will always be matters deserving our concern. But concern does not need to occupy every room in the house.

We can care deeply and still laugh.

We can be informed without being consumed.

We can acknowledge what hurts while remaining grateful for what heals.

We can carry responsibility without carrying the weight of the entire world on our shoulders.

Perhaps that is one of the gifts of growing older: realizing that joy does not need to be earned. It does not require perfect circumstances or anyone else’s permission. Sometimes we simply need to make room for it.

So as I carry the reflection of my birthday month into August and beyond, I am choosing to notice what is good, celebrate what is real, and appreciate the people and moments that make life meaningful.

Not because everything is perfect.

Not because difficulties have disappeared.

But because life is happening now, and joy deserves its turn.

This month, ask yourself: Have I become so busy managing life that I’ve forgotten to enjoy it?

If so, open the door. Joy may already be waiting on the other side.

The image on this post were handmade by my wonderful friend Kathy. Her kindness flows out and brings joy to a great many people.