What brings you joy?

What brings you joy?

I’ll tell you a secret.

There is no right or wrong answer to this question.

joy /joi/ noun a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.

Sometimes we get caught up in the “should” or the “supposed to”. It’s easy to forget that joy belongs to each of us - what brings joy will differ for each person.

On a recent Tuesday evening, I found joy in the aisles of a Whole Foods in Manhattan.

I get it, Whole Foods on a Tuesday is probably not most people’s idea of joy. Especially these days with groceries being so expensive already - there’s a reason people call Whole Foods “whole paycheck”. 😬 

But hear me out.

I had just wrapped up my first parent-teacher night at my daughter’s new school. The event ended late enough that I would arrive home after her bedtime, so I didn’t feel a need to rush home.

Finding myself with an unexpected window of time alone, I considered my options. (Granted, her school is in the financial district in Manhattan, so at 7pm on a Tuesday my options were limited. 😉)

Find somewhere to grab dinner?

Invite one of my new “parent friends” to go for a drink?

Go find some live music somewhere?

I could hear the little voice in my head: I should have fun with this unexpected time! I should make the most of it!

Or maybe… I should hop on the subway as quickly as possible and go home to Brooklyn, my tea, and my book. 🫖

And then I remembered the Whole Foods on Broadway, just a few blocks away. And off I went for a 20-minute stroll of joy. ❤️

A short list of what brought me joy on that evening:

• The store felt quiet and calm. Whole Foods generally plays quiet music, and 7pm on a Tuesday the store was pretty empty and chill.

• I didn’t need anything at the store, and I didn’t need to be anywhere anytime soon. I could calmly wander the aisles with no agenda and no time pressure.

• I love snacks. Fun snacks bring me joy. I’m always on the hunt for fun snacks to keep me going during a long work day. Whole Foods has some tasty snacks. And chocolate.

• And finally, as every New Yorker knows, Whole Foods brings the joy of an easily accessible, clean bathroom. 🚽

Giant ice cream sundaes also bring me joy. 😀

So yes, that 20-minute trip to Whole Foods brought me great joy. Enough so that I took a silly photo of myself with my Whole Foods bag, waiting for the subway.

Here’s my invitation to you: Find one thing today that brings you joy and notice it.
Embrace what brings you joy. True joy.

Forget what you think “should” bring you joy or what brings anyone else joy.

Your joy is yours alone.

And if the joy moves you, send me a photo. 😁

Until next time.

— Sarah B.