Finding Joy in the Journey

It was 6:30 in the morning. The alarm had just gone off and Lila, my miniature pinscher mix, was enthusiastically licking my face. How can anyone be this cheerful first thing in the morning? I groggily rolled over and drug myself out of bed.

Time to take Lila for her morning walk. We walk the same trail every morning. She gets what she needs while I wake up and drink my obligatory water. For me it's a duty. For Lila it's a new adventure everyday. She darts here and there sniffing every blade of grass. And then tangling me up in the leash as she bounds back to me in ecstatic joy.

However this morning was different. Stepping out on the nature walk behind my apartment, right off the bat, a large tree caught my eye. It was old and a large limb had broken away exposing burrows and holes that had been created by insects. The pattern in the wood was fascinating.


A little past the tree, I saw beautiful blue-purple shooting-star flowers basking in the sunlight that filtered through the leaves of the trees overhead.

Next I spotted the red clover, flooding me with memories of my sister and I plucking the petals to taste the sweetness of the nectar. A summer time treat that made us giggle.

There was a patch of Queen Anne's Lace that made me smile as I remembered using them to pretend to be a princess when I was a little girl.

And a clearing, where if you used your imagination, you could picture woodland fairies dancing under a full moon.

I had never noticed how many of my neighbors grew lavender in their yards. Or the little path that lead up from the sidewalk to the street that dead ended right before it.

So much beauty. Such wonder. Many fond memories. All were just waiting for me to find.

I realized that so often I just go through life. Fighting to survive. Doing my duty. I am so taken up with all that I have to do that I don't notice the joy that is all around me.

Even during the dark patches on life's trail, there is joy to be found. When my son and I had moved into our

own place, things were stressful and chaotic. I wasn't always sure how we would get by - pay the rent - keep the lights on - put food on the table. Even in that turmoil there was joy to be found.

I can't express how it felt when I realized that for the first time in years my son hadn't had a nightmare in weeks. Or we sat down together to figure out a budget to give us financial stability. Or we started to build friendships that would grow into a network of support and eventually into family.

Right before Lila and I reached the driveway to our complex, I noticed a single, simple Morning Glory stretching towards the sun. Somehow it had grown in a hedge - alone, not surrounded by its own kind. Yet despite its isolation, it was determined to find the joy.

We may not always be able to choose the circumstances of our journey. Not given the chance to choose the path we must walk. But we do get to choose how we travel the road. We can choose to focus on the things that bring us down. We can look only at the list of responsibilities and duties we must check-off along the way. Or we can choose to find the joy and enjoy the journey.

#joy, #choice, #journey