Unexpected Joy - Day 1

"The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but they seize us" ~Ashley Montagu

I wake early each morning, it is my thing, my habit, my comfort, to begin each day with a mindful practice of slowly becoming. Taking the time to implement pleasure, and allow the slow sips of warm coffee to unite my senses as I embrace the moment with both hands cradling my favorite mug.

A ritual of sorts, a fresh beginning with the satisfaction delivering the practice of joy as I unfold into a new day, and yet even with all the practicing to begin anew, I still falter back to the negative, the sadness, the past hurts that blanketed my life and smothered the joy before me.

This 31 days is an opportunity for me to forgive the past hurts and thank them for the positive changes they brought to my life. Forgiving the heartache of loss with a remembrance of the joy it once carried, the pieces that I was given that others never knew, the lessons provided within each story that fill me with the compassion for life and the joy of what was.

Today I will discover the unexpected joy that is always with us if we just take the time to notice.