2020 has taught me a lot. It has showed me the importance of slowing down, breathing, and enjoying my life. It certainly has not been an easy year. Through all the ups and downs I have focused on being able to find moments of joy.

Over the last year I have found joy in spending more time with my family, not having to race around from work to school pick up to after school activities, spending more time outside in nature, playing ping pong with my husband, cooking more, and the connections with friends and family that can often go unappreciated.

Joy isn’t always easy to find in a year like 2020. Often you have to look for it in the most unlikely places. As Rumi say, “Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.” 2020 has definitely shaken us to our core. But we need things to be shaken up so we can see what was in front of us the whole time.

Finding joy in life is a practice. It calls us to stay in the present. It can start with small moments like listening to your favorite song, seeing a good friend, playing with your child or your dog, or doing something for others. It is often the smallest things that can invoke joy in us. We are just called to take the time to appreciate them.

As 2020 draws to a close, take a moment to reflect on the moments that brought you joy in your life. As you think back you may feel a smile make its way across your face. Let that feeling be what we carry that into the new year!