I don’t know why, but sometimes depression hits me like a ton of lead. I can be going along quite nicely, and then – BOOM! Completely incapacitated for a few minutes, hours, or days. I’ve tried to notice patterns in the onset. Maybe a specific recurring event that triggers it, or maybe the weather. But, I can’t always seem to put my finger on the ultimate cause.
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A few days ago, I went grocery shopping. Not seemingly a monumental occasion. But for someone who hasn’t been able to go for months, it was a pretty big deal!
After I came home, I shared with Brad how awesome it was just to be in a store. Just to wander through the aisles and browse through all the choices… I wanted to buy everything I saw and stock up our pantry.
Thankfully, I maintained some self-control and didn’t drain the bank account – but I sure could have…
That small trip to the grocery store was something that resembled my life before my back problems. It was a life in which I accomplished tasks and felt productive. A life that felt easy and comfortable. It has been so long since I have had those feelings – so long since I have been able to do the normal things I used to take for granted.
My goal is to never do that again.
You know that feeling when you walk into a clean and organized home? For me, it’s almost as if a hush comes over everything and I just want to stop and stare. I actually get a feeling of joy and happiness that starts in my chest and spreads outwards. It is a true sense of peace and tranquility. Because my surroundings are so wonderfully neat and tidy, my perfectionist tendencies are at bay because not one thing is out-of-order or begging to be changed. I can almost hear the harps…
And, then, I wake up. That is my dream. Certainly not always my reality…
But, every so often, when the moon is in just the right phase and all the planets are aligned… if I’m really lucky, I can get ONE room in our home to give me that feeling. Unfortunately, everything doesn’t always come together to make that possible. It’s way more rare than it is common. But, it’s a good goal to have, regardless.
So, in order to bring more joy into our home on a more regular basis, I started looking around and thinking about what is truly needed to create a Home of Joy. Along the way, I discovered there is a lot more to joy than just looks. (Pretty sure there’s another lesson wrapped up in there somewhere…)
But, for now, here’s a quick list of what I came up with this time around…
So, if you remember my post from yesterday, Have a Good Day, I had started talking about something my mom had said to me at the end of one of our phone conversations.
For whatever reason, the whole phrase really stood out to me. Probably because I have been working on the whole joyful and happiness bit. Not to mention – trying to be productive. But that’s a story for another day. Namely, tomorrow…
Today, I am going to focus on Joyful and Happy.
There is actually quite a bit of controversy in religious circles about these two words and their meanings, believe it or not. Some theologians want to separate them and classify them as two entirely different things, while others point out the synonymous ways in which they’re used in the Bible. So, which one is correct?
As the new year started, so did my list of books I wanted to read. Check out that post – and be sure to tell me the amazing ones I am surely missing!
Unbelievably, the first book I have finished is actually the first on my list! Now, this usually NEVER happens! I have a tendency to start one book, then hear about a new one, and leave the first on a pile on my nightstand…
Not this time. This time, I did it – and I’m really happy I did!
