too much joy is exactly enough
I have a full life. A privileged life. An unendangered life. But sometimes the simple joys escape me. Joy is not always a feeling that is freely bestowed upon us, often it is something we must actively seek. In a way, joy is a decision, an action, even a practised method of being. It is an earned thing brought into focus by what we have lost — at... See more
Maria Popova • Audubon on other minds and the secret knowledge of animals, the paradox of joy with Nick Cave and Lisel Mueller, how Dostoyevsky became a writer
Ask yourself, next time you’re doing something enjoyable: are you really surrendering to the full enjoyment available here? The answer will often be no. Perhaps this has something to do with how displays of rapturous delight are often discouraged in adolescence.
Sasha Chapin • 50 Things I Know
Poet Mary Oliver on allowing yourself to be happy and full: "If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. ...whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb."
Helen Garner on Happiness: ‘It’s Taken Me 80 Years to Figure Out It’s Not a Tranquil, Sunlit Realm’
Helen Garnertheguardian.com
The truth is I don’t want to live like that anymore. I don’t want my joy constantly filtered through tragedy to make it socially acceptable. I don’t want to preface every moment of peace with a disclaimer about the state of the world. I don’t want to curate my life through a lens of respectable sorrow. I want the full range. I want to be allowed to... See more