Childlike Joy

 Today I’m thinking about how we can have the pure intense joy that so often we see in the faces of our children. I think about how Jayden smiles and squeals with delight when he chases our kitty or goes to catch a bouncy ball. I remember Kasdyn’s bright smile when she went rafting the first time. They both love to splash in the water. Children are so quick to feel that pure joy, and the way they focus on one thing at a time allows them to leave behind previous feelings. 


How can we do that? How can we go from a grumpy frustrated day, and let things go? To enjoy the positives in that moment without that dark cloud of frustration or tiredness or grumpiness about other parts of our day or our life? If we could focus on those happy moments and those positive things, I think that would help us even with the harder parts of life where we feel that sadness, anxiety, or discouragement. 


Thinking back to my psychology classes, we talked about how neural pathways get activated in the brain, and whichever pathways are practiced and repeated and heavily used, get reinforced and strengthened. Why not strengthen the neural pathways related to your positive thinking, reflecting on your happy memories, feeling grateful for your children, husband, and others…


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