June Cotner - Back to Joy: Little Reminders to Help Us through Tough Times

ROAD BACK TO JOY

Somewhere you lost your way. You were happy once, but circumstances took you on a detour. Youre overwhelmed by massive roadblocks or unexpected potholes. Youve been downsized financially, emotionally, and/or physically.

If its any comfort, most of the people you know are suffering, too. Many lives have been rudely adjusted to a world we didnt envision, plan, or create. Recovery or getting by might be your new normal.

Despite your stalled momentum, there is a way back to joy. Joy is a simple word, refreshing as a breath of air. It conveys moments of pure pleasure. As a child you focused on small delightsrunning outdoors on the grass. A cup of hot chocolate. Watching a favorite movie over and over. A treasured stuffed animal. Sharing a secret.

Recall how you marveled at the things that brought you joy as you grew older. Childrens laughter. Plunging into cool water and resurfacing. Sleeping late. Cracking open a new book. Flea markets. A breathtaking sunset.

You have problems to resolve, but you still have the capacity for joy. Rejoice in the things that give you pleasure now. Breathe. Enjoy a cup of calming tea or a bracing mug of coffee. Put your feet up. Let your hair down.

These small graces are momentary rest stops on the journey, but sometimes taking a break from a worry rut leads to a different path. What fun is a road trip without diversions? And sometimes a new direction is what you need to get back on the road to random joy.

mary kolada scott

THE JOURNEY

Without words, it comes. And suddenly, sharply, one is aware of being separated from every person on ones earth and every object, and from the beginning of things and from the future and even a little, from ones self. A moment before one was happily playing; the world was round and friendly. Now at ones feet there are chasms that had been invisible until this moment. And one knows, and never remembers how it was learned, that there will always be chasms, and across the chasms will always be those one loves.

lillian smith

REBIRTH

When lifes trials weigh you down like snow on a limb,
When strife steals your smile and your candle grows dim.

Like the branch of the tree, youre sure you will break,
You feel yourself falling, you think its too late.

Just remember, with time the snow changes to rain,
And a smile will caress your lips once again.

The sun without warning will burst through the clouds,
Melt the snow from the branch with its radiant shroud.

And despite all lifes sorrow, despite all its pain,
You emerge even stronger, youre whole once again.

barb mayer

FACING LIFES CHALLENGES

Sooner or later we will come to the edge of all thatwe cannot control and find life, waiting there for us.

rachel naomi remen

There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.

c.s. lewis

When youre going through hell, keep going.

winston churchill

Its one short step from why me to woe is me.

john c. maxwell

If it werent for the rocks in its bed, the stream would have no song.

carl perkins

When lifes problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate.

ann landers

Your present circumstances dont determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.

nido qubein

Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courageit can be delightful.

george bernard shaw

BEGIN

Begin on the path, even if it winds.
Even if you do not know at first where it is going
and if it appears as a maze, a puzzle, a bewilderment.

The geese that fly south in winter,
north in spring, know their journey innately,
yet still use the stars to guide them.

Follow your very own star.
The one you have always wished upon.
You can find your way home.

jean nicole bass

RELAX

Bad things are going to happen.
Your tomatoes will grow a fungus
and your cat will get run over.
Someone will leave the bag with the ice cream
melting in the car and throw
your blue cashmere sweater in the dryer.
Your husband will sleep with a girl your daughters age, her breasts spilling
out of her blouse. Or your wife
will remember shes a lesbian
and leave you for the woman next door. The other cat
the one you never really likedwill contract a disease
that requires you to pry open its feverish mouth
every four hours. Your parents will die.
No matter how many vitamins you take,
how much Pilates, youll lose your keys,
your hair and your memory. If your daughter
doesnt plug her heart
into every live socket she passes,
youll come home to find your son has emptied
the refrigerator, dragged it to the curb,
and called the used-appliance store for a pick updrug money.
The Buddha tells a story of a woman chased by a tiger.
When she comes to a cliff, she sees a sturdy vine
and climbs half way down. But theres also a tiger below.
And two miceone white, one blackscurry out
and begin to gnaw at the vine. At this point
she notices a wild strawberry growing from a crevice.
She looks up, down, at the mice.
Then she eats the strawberry.
So heres the view, the breeze, the pulse
in your throat. Your wallet will be stolen, youll get fat,
slip on the bathroom tiles in a foreign hotel
and crack your hip. Youll be lonely.
Oh taste how sweet and tart
the red juice is, how the tiny seeds
crunch between your teeth.

ellen bass

PERMISSION GRANTED

Why is it that we never feel entitled,
To take care of ourselves,
When we most need care?
Even the storm takes care of itself,
Raining until there is no more rain,
Not asking anyones permission,
To light up the sky, fill the gutters, and leak into the kitchen.
A storm has come into your life, wreaking havoc and chaos,
And youre the one needing permission?
You have it:
Permission to feel afraid, but not feel conquered by your fears,
Permission to feel overwhelmed, but not undone,
Permission to pause, shed a few tears, take a breath,
Permission to sit with a cup of coffee and find the still center of yourself
In the eye of the storm
where all your strength lies in waiting.
Storms come and pass, and you are stronger because of them.
Its stormy now.
You have permission to feel the power of the storm,
and seek the shelter within yourself.

susan koefod

PERSPECTIVE

Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before how infinitely rich and beautiful life isin every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever.

isak dinesen

If you focus on what you left behind, you will never be able to see what lies ahead.

gusteau, ratatouille

If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone elses, wed grab ours back.

regina brett

The years teach much which the days never knew.

ralph waldo emerson

WHEN CHALLENGES ARISE

We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.

epictetus

If you worry about what might be, and wonder what might have been, you will ignore what is.

author unknown

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow; it only saps today of its joy.

leo buscaglia

What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.

friedrich nietzsche

EMBRACE UNCERTAINTY AS A CLOUD

When uncertainty hangs humid