I Want to Start a Movement: Find Joy*tho

Take a minute and remember the moments in your life where you felt joy. I decided to make a list; since I love making them, this was no big deal. Here are just a few moments where I felt joy:

· The first time I held a baby

· The first time I baked a cake

· The day I walked to communion with my daughter and mother-in-law

· The moment I got my first professional job offer

· The day a client tried to provoke me, and I was able to speak peacefully

· The moment I crossed the finish line of my first marathon

· The hour I listened to a mom tell me how her KenCrest therapist impacted her life, and the development of her little boy

· The moment I realized that my leadership had big returns in helping other leaders

Then I decided to look and see if there was anything in common amongst all of these moments. I wanted to see if I could find a pattern or an action that I had taken to get to this feeling. At first, I found it easier to identify everything that wasn’t involved in bringing me joy in each instance; here is what I realized:

· Money wasn’t involved

· It wasn’t confined to a place

· It wasn’t tied to a specific age

It’s almost as if going to the ‘not’ side — broke the ice to help me see the pattern. Joy was something I was pursuing, and it wasn’t accidental in most instances. I wanted to hold the baby, so I asked. I worked my way up…or more like worked my way off and away from the couch — to run my first marathon. In these instances, there were other people involved — someone needed to be willing to say ‘yes’ to me holding their baby; and someone needed to show me the way off of the couch.

There was instant joy in holding that baby, but it took some effort to achieve joy after I committed to doing the marathon. There were months of training; I even got up a few mornings at 4:30AM in the dark hours of the morning, to meet up with buddies to run before it got too hot. And a friend encouraged me to move from my first short race of 3.1 miles to the 26.2 miles of the marathon. It took some self-reflection, training, and feedback to find joy in leading.

If life is better when we experience joy then we need to be willing to see and explore the opportunities before us, and intentionally choose to pursue joy. We need to be looking and not waiting for joy to find us. This is true whether it is in the office with coworkers, or with the students, clients, and families we support. How do we help each other see the opportunities, and discover the joy that is out there for the taking?

I am grateful for all the stories of joy that reached me in 2018, and for all of you who relentlessly pursued joy; I know you will find more throughout this year. Our commitment to a meaningful life is not just about our programs and services; it’s about each of us as people. As you move through 2019, how will you pursue joy?

• This piece was inspired by someone who actively pursues joy and constantly brings it to others — Leta and her larger than life smile.