Happy Thursday! I hope this note finds you enjoying your day. I recently got this note from a JoyDrop reader. “Erik,” she wrote, “How can you truly find joy when you have lost so much?” She continued, “My kids are healthy, but I struggle with finding joy these days.”
While I never want these JoyDrops to be about me, I will use today to share how I responded to her, hoping it could help you or someone you know who might be having trouble finding JOY.
“Thank you so much for your note and for supporting Jessie. I hope my thoughts will help you thrive in life. To answer your question, I have to make a mental choice every day to either be “bitter” or be “better”. When I choose bitterness, joy gets sucked out of my life within seconds. Some say I have a right to be bitter at life because of what cancer did to Jessie. Personally, I don’t believe that would be the best way to honor my daughter and all that she lived for.
So, I try to choose to be “better” in life every day. When I do, the result is always JOY. I also get a great deal of joy from helping others. You shared with me that you have donated to Jessie’s JoyJars in the past. That is a great act of helping others and I hope you follow Jessie’s Facebook page so you can see the pictures of kids with their JoyJars. Their smiles bring me tons of joy and I know they will do the same for you.
There are times in my life when I feel tempted to let bitterness invade my life. When I’m at this crossroad, I like to make a list of the benefits of choosing to be better vs. being bitter. When I do this, the “better” side of my ledger is always longer than the “bitter” side. Making a personal JOY ledger for yourself could possibly help you find joy too.”
Maybe you know someone who needs to make a JOY ledger in his or her life. Maybe that person is you. When we take the time to choose to be “better” in life, we are also allowing ourselves to find the gift of joy.
Let’s find joy today!
NEGU,
Erik
PS: Please feel free to use this link to schedule a time to connect with me. I look forward to hearing from you – www.jessie.org/support
If you would like to read more JoyDrop’s please visit https://negu.wpengine.com/joydrop/