on remembering joy
day 30: writing ritual
today’s prompt: create a sacred joy list. list every small, specific, heart-opening thing that has brought you joy lately.
thirty days of presence. thirty days of returning to the page. even when it felt inconvenient. even when you didn’t know what to say.
you carved out time. you made space. you listened.
and now, here you are.
we are nearing the end of this sacred writing ritual but before we arrive at the final day, i want to invite you into a moment of reflection.
today, we’re recalling or remembering our time with joy.
not the kind of joy that asks you to smile when you’re breaking. nor the kind that glosses over your pain. but the joy that finds you, anyway (and always). the joy that moves toward you in ordinary moments and asks nothing of you but your attention.
those moments of joy that often go unnamed or uncelebrated. but they are holy.
they are evidence of your aliveness. of your capacity to feel. to notice. to receive beauty even when everything around you feels like the opposite.
as you prepare to step into the final threshold of this ritual, i invite you to create your sacred joy list. a living archive of the moments that reminded you who you are. the people. sounds. scents. memories. and sensations that brought you back to yourself.
this isn’t about listing what you think should bring you joy. it’s about honoring what actually did.
let this list be your companion into day 31. let it be your soft altar. let it be your reminder that joy is not a destination but a practice. a remembering. a choice you’re allowed to make again and again.
you have done something truly sacred here.
you have returned to yourself. day by day. word by word.
allow this to be your blessing as you prepare to close the circle:
may you continue to notice what glimmers.
may you trust that the quiet joys count.
may you remember that joy is not selfish. it is survival.
may you keep honoring your life by living it with tenderness.
may you come back to this list when you need light.
may you keep choosing joy.
writing lesson: the practice of remembering joy
when we’re moving through a season of growth. healing. or deep reflection. it’s so easy to focus on what still feels incomplete. what’s unresolved. what hasn’t yet come together.
while there’s nothing wrong with naming those truths. while there’s deep value in giving voice to what hurts. there is also power in pausing to notice what has held you. what has brought the light in. what has made you smile.
today’s writing practice is about shifting your gaze. not in a way that ignores or bypasses your grief. your exhaustion. your uncertainty. but in a way that balances it. that anchors you in what’s real. what’s good. what has kept you going.
listing joy is a writing technique that helps return us to presence. it’s a quiet act of devotion.
when you create your sacred joy list today, think of it as a gathering. you are collecting the details of your life that often go unnoticed but that deeply matter.
this is not about what you should be grateful for. it’s about what brought you alive even for a moment.
be specific.
let your language be rich with texture.
let it be sensory.
let it smell like tea or lavender or fresh rain.
let it sound like wind chimes or your grandmother’s laugh or the song that brought you home to yourself.
let your list remind you, always, that even in the midst of everything,
you are still allowed to feel something beautiful.
additional prompts
what unexpected moments of joy surprised you this month?
what’s a song, a smell, or a memory that always brings you back to yourself?
when was the last time you felt truly at peace? where were you? what surrounded you?
who in your life makes you feel safe, seen, or deeply loved?
what small thing would you like to experience more often? why?
begin with: “joy, i see you in…” and let the rest flow.
