Joy is an Anchor...
Let it keep you tethered to what matters.
As we close out May in a few days, I'm carrying this with me: Joy is not a luxury. It's an anchor. In a world that often feels chaotic, uncertain, and demanding, joy becomes the tether that keeps us from drifting too far from ourselves.
This month, if you did this practice with me, we explored what it means to cultivate deliberate joy—not the kind that arrives uninvited, but the kind we make room for on purpose. The joy we spot in stillness. The joy we choose, even while grieving. The joy we protect like a resource. And the joy that grows quietly as we heal.
Maybe May wasn't light or easy for you—it wasn't for me. Maybe it asked more questions than it answered—I know I did and still do. And so, with that, I want us all to know that there is still so much to hold onto, even in the muddiness of our lives. Sometimes joy looks like a whisper through cracked windows, quiet mornings, taking the long way home with no music playing, or roaming the aisles of your favorite store to find a moment of peace for yourself. None of our joy needs to be grand to get our attention. Let these mundane delights root you deeper into healing and bring you back to where your feet are.
As we move toward a new month, I invite you to reflect on this question:
What moments grounded me in joy, even when life felt loud or uncertain?
When we take the time to notice moments—small, steady, and sacred—we begin to see joy not as something we chase but as something we return to.
Again and again.
Joy doesn’t bypass our aches. It can’t erase the suffering, the heaviness, or the weariness. But it gives us something to lean on when life feels unsteady. It reminds us who we are when we fail to remember.
The tenderness of joy brings us back to breath, to beauty, to presence.
So if you're tired—rest in joy.
If you're unsure—anchor in joy.
If you're healing—make room for joy to meet you there.
You don't have to earn it. You only have to notice it.
As we wrap up this month of Deliberate Joy, take a moment to honor the ways you've stayed grounded. Celebrate the peace you've chosen in stillness. Name the tenderness you've made room for.
Something I am carrying with me into the next month is this:
Joy is not the absence of adversity—it's the refusal to let adversity take you away from you.
Let joy be your anchor. Let it keep you tethered to what matters. Let it hold you steady as you cross into June.
At this point, Joy Spotting is a ritual and daily practice for us. So, we'll keep this going. We'll keep honoring the quiet ways we stay soft in a world that wants us hardened. And we'll keep returning to the truth:
Joy is not out there. It's within us.
All we have to do is be aware and open enough to let it rise.
In June, we'll explore what keeps us grounded in joy—not the fleeting kind that disappears with circumstances, but the deep, rooted kind that we can return to again and again. Anchored joy is steady. It's sustaining. It's the kind of joy that doesn't rush you but reminds you of who you are beneath the noise.
Here are a few thought starters to guide your daily joy spotting in June:
What am I choosing to come back to, no matter what?
What small moment brought me back to the present?
Who or what reminds me to feel alive?
Where do I feel safest to be myself?
What part of my day felt most like me?
I will share my June planner layout on the first of the month. I'm excited to decorate my spread this week!
And if you need a few journal prompts to explore what anchored joy is for you, lean into the ones below or use them as inspiration:
What does joy rooted in truth look and feel like for you?
Describe a memory where you felt deeply grounded in joy. What about it felt anchoring?
What are 3 practices, people, or places that help you return to joy when life feels messy?
What distractions often pull you away from joy, and how can you gently come back?
What kind of joy are you building your life around right now—and is it enough to hold you?
Let June be about depth, not performance. Let it be about cultivating joy that doesn't depend on everything going right. Let it be about honoring the quiet anchors in your life—those people, practices, and truths that keep you steady.
I'm excited to walk into another month of joy with you.
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“Joy is not the absence of adversity—it's the refusal to let adversity take you away from you.” Whew. Thank you so much for this.
Joy is my birthright 🫶🏽