I’ll be honest I have not leapt in to the Marie Kondo approach to tidying but I have observed from the sidelines (likely because of the tidying) as there is something that feels so good about it that I couldn’t quite discern (likely because of the tidying).
After witnessing my husband happily (dare I even say excitedly) and proudly fold his t-shirts in neat rows and then more recently, a friend share that during an argument with her partner she reached over and took his hands and said to him “you are not sparking joy” – the penny finally dropped…. it is all about the J O Y!
Joy is what had captured me, that I felt drawn to, the idea that our everyday life needs as much joy as we can stuff in to it delights me no end. It’s when you do an audit of this everyday life that you realise Marie Kondo is doing a public service by reminding us all to find things that spark that joy in our lives.
So, when was the last time you felt joy? Being so consumed by the busyness and doing of every day life a certain numbness can creep in. With much to be done and achieved, we can find ourselves moving through the day at pace, not quite touching or connecting until our heads finally hit the pillow. It is also extremely common to not even be able to articulate, or to know deeply the things that truly bring you joy. There have been times when I have thought I really liked eating, drinking, doing something but upon closer inspection, it was actually false – they were things I “should” be liking and that’s not the same as experiencing pure, unadulterated joy from my heart. It’s only when I stop to really take notice that I realise I can’t fool myself.
Let’s choose the joy – let’s get in touch with the things (people, objects, situations) in our lives that spark joy for us – recognise them, appreciate them, continue to create them, bathe and delight in them – and then, most importantly, do them daily.
Love, Jo x