Seasons of Life: A Season of Joy
Always Enjoy Something
When we think about joy, we often think about the big moments.
A wedding. A birthday. A graduation. The birth of a baby. A long-awaited accomplishment. Those beautiful milestones that make us stop, celebrate, take pictures, gather around a table, and say, This is a moment I want to remember.
And they are joyful.
But I’ve learned that joy doesn’t always arrive with an invitation, a celebration, or a milestone attached to it.
Sometimes, joy is much quieter.
It’s a cool breeze on an unexpectedly warm day.
A nap in the middle of the afternoon without feeling guilty about it.
A walk outside surrounded by trees and flowers.
A hug that lasts a little longer.
Watching someone you love find their way and thrive.
Laughing over something completely ordinary.
Maybe one of the gifts of getting older is learning to appreciate these smaller joys more. I know I do.
I notice them differently now.
I think part of that comes from realizing that joy, like so many seasons of life, ebbs and flows. It doesn’t have a definitive beginning or end. We don’t suddenly enter a Season of Joy where everything is wonderful and stay there until something changes.
Joy can exist right alongside uncertainty, disappointment, change, and even sadness.
My sister recently lost her job. It would be easy—and completely understandable—for that experience to overshadow everything else. But I’ve watched her choose not to let losing her job mean losing her joy.
She had a T-shirt from her company, and rather than allowing it to become a reminder of what she lost, she decided to repurpose it. She gave the company’s initials a new meaning:
Always Enjoy Something.
I love that.
Not enjoy everything.
Not pretend everything is okay.
Just Always Enjoy Something.
There is something so simple and hopeful about that idea.
Because even during a difficult season, there can still be something worth enjoying. A cup of coffee in the morning. Sunshine coming through the window. Dinner with someone you love. A favorite song. Fresh flowers. A funny text. A quiet moment when, for just a little while, everything feels okay.
Joy doesn’t require a perfect life.
Maybe it simply asks us to be present enough to recognize what is good today.
That is what I want to carry with me into every season of life—the joyful ones, certainly, but perhaps even more importantly, the complicated ones.
To celebrate the milestones when they come. To appreciate the big, beautiful moments.
But also to notice the breeze.
Take the nap.
Give the hug.
Watch the people I love become who they are becoming.
Laugh whenever I can.
And remember that I don’t have to wait for life to give me a reason for a celebration to experience joy.
There is something to enjoy today.
I just have to notice it.
Always Enjoy Something.
I think I’ll keep that one.
Happy savoring.
Angeline