Add More Joy to Your Life

It was only a few months back during the holiday season that anyone and everyone was wishing us happiness and joy, and reminding us to make merry; so does that mean that the rest of the year it's okay to give into the blahs? Of course, not! Or else we'd be moping around for most of our lives.

If you find that you need motivation to wake up and randomly find joy in the every day, consider this. In the Jewish faith, there is a prayer called Modeh Ani traditionally said every morning upon opening one's eyes to face the day. In my book "Ancient Prayer: Channeling Your Faith 365 Days of the Year" (Fall River Press, 2016) I partially translated and then explained the idea of a morning prayer in this way: "I am thankful…for you have mercifully returned my soul within me." I also compared it to a variation of the prayer recited by recovering addicts explaining that "the notion shared in both the prayer and the recovery process is the belief that all elements of the soul and psyche are returned to one's maker every single night. The hope is that only the parts that serve one best are returned each morning, leaving one with a clean slate and the chance to make things right and start over from scratch every single morning."

It can be really hard to find joy on a daily basis, much less in the most mundane things like getting up in the morning and facing a long commute or mountain of unwashed laundry. But figuring out how to perhaps set a reset button every single night and then following up with a simple morning prayer might help. You're here, you're alive and every day brings the ability to find some joy, even for just a moment.

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