Today I want to talk to you about joy. That feeling of pure, simple happiness that is so hard to define and often so fleeting. That feeling that perhaps we should look for more closely, cultivate.
In the two months you’ve been with us there have been more moments like this than I can remember. Every time we look at you we are filled with simple joy and wonder. But more than that; experiencing this has taught me more about joy.
Since around week six after your birth you have been able to show us your joy- with your smiles. The smallest things can cause you to break into a bright smile (and a little later a perfect gleeful giggle)- it might be me tickling your cheek, your mother cooing to you or even just seeing us. Sometimes it’s completely unexpected- the smile of joy at having your nappy changed or a big fart, and sometimes we know exactly when it will happen like when you have your nightly bath (you loved your baths!). The joy you have seems so special to me- uncomplicated, pure, authentic. It asks no questions, it is unencumbered by anxieties or background worries. It is completely in the present moment. Your joy rubs of on us everyday. One day you will see what feels like to have your baby smile that way at you- and understand the joy you brought us.
Living in this locked-down bubble of happiness with you these last months has reminded me that joy is everywhere- Spring has arrived in Melbourne and I find myself noticing little things more than before- new shoots on the plants, the return of the blackbird song, the first morning that I notice warmth in the air when I step out the door. I have smiled at all these things. Perhaps I am more aware than before, but also I find myself thinking of how wondrous these things will be to you in a few years time, and how much joy it will bring me to share them with you. I am seeing the world through new eyes.
This is not to say that you have been a smiling joyous baby every minute of your waking life- oh no! That smile of joy can disappear in a flash, replaced by a scrunching face, a trembling lower lip and a cry of anguish. But equally, a moment’s consolation, a well timed distraction, can make the cloud pass and return your focus to the joy.
And so- my words to you on the subject of joy are these;
Joy is all around us; it is encoded in us at the deepest level to find joy in the smallest things and it is incumbent upon us not to forget how to see it. Joy is a choice; there will always be less than joyful thoughts for us to focus on if we so choose, taking our attention away from that joy but equally, we choose where we direct our attention. And finally, joy is contagious; if I have learned anything from you these last few months it is how powerful a smile can be- you smile because I smile at you- I smile because you smile at me. And then we start seeing joy everywhere.