I’ve been working hard to take care of myself. It’s not an easy task. I’ve been trained to care for the needs of others before my own for a very long time. My work in the mental health field is demanding. I am widely networked with social relationships. I can’t possibly say yes to every invitation I receive, though it pains me each time I choose to decline, because my desire is, my desire is that I would be able to connect with those who reach out to connect. It is a privilege and honor to be pursued in friendship. Yet, I have become more and more aware of my limitations. Capacity, the ability of what we are able to manage and manage well, has limits.

But yesterday, yesterday last night, was a joyful surprise. Just about every night I go to a local workout center, truthfully, mainly for the unlimited massage chairs! It’s part of my self care plan, to receive a chair massage on a daily basis, as much as possible. So, last night, I went to the local work out center, and as you can guess, went straight for the chair massage.

I sat down, got comfortable, and as I laid back my head and started to close my eyes, someone walking into the massage chair room grabbed my attention. “Hey her hair looks kinda like me, wait a moment, this girl is smiling and waving at me, wait a second, that’s my friend who reached out wanting to get together to catch up who I thought I couldn’t possibly find time to get together with!” My face lit up, her face lit up too, we were glad to see each other and there was joy.

I can’t think of many things more joyfilled than sitting in a massage chair while chatting with a friend. We were smiling, my stomach felt light and with some bounce, I felt relief. “I will be able to spend time with this new friend of mine afterall, and it won’t spread me more thin, we will do self care together by exersising while catching up.

This was a satisfying experience and a moment of joy I experienced at the workout center recently.

Moments of joy are everywhere, we just need to train our brains to see them. We need ingredients of joyful connection and self care, one without the other in life, will not be as satisfying in life as it has potential to be.