April 28: thin slice of joy

moments of delight add up

Good morning! It’s my last day of teaching, and it’s 39 and cloudy, and I am irritable. I’ve been considering walking across campus to buy myself some supplemental coffee and a self-bribery donut, but the last time I did that, I walked all the way back to my office only to discover that instead of the sour cream donut I’d ordered (the best), the bag contained a plain donut (The Worst.) Don’t I sound terribly grumpy?

Let’s look for some joy today.

it’s so gray on campus today but I’m glad I stopped to look at this tree

I first came across the phrase “thin slice of joy” on Cup of Jo a bunch of years ago, in this post. Joanna Goddard credits the phrase to former google engineer Chade-Meng Tan, who wrote the book Joy on Demand. He encourages us to

Notice the joyful moments in your day, however small, however fleeting. Notice how good it feels to have that first sip of your drink. Or how tasty that first bite of food is. The pleasurable feeling of your skin in warm water when you wash your hands or take a shower. The moment of delight and comfort when you see your friend. These thin slices of joy only last a few seconds but they add up! The more you notice joy, the more you will experience joy in your life.

So, today, look for your own thin slices of joy.

today’s exercise

Seek thin slices of joy.

What I particularly like about this practice is how this way of seeking joy pulls us back into the sensory world: the first sip of hot coffee in the morning, a little patch of sunshine, a tree in bloom.

If you like, you can write down what you notice and use that as the starting point for freewriting or a draft. And I’d love for you to share your own thin slices of joy in the comments, or by email! But you might also just enjoy making some space for joy in your day. (And now I am going to go get that donut.)

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What thin slices of joy did you find? I’d love to hear from you. You can always reply to this email, comment below, or find me on twitter (@nancy_reddy) and instagram (@nancy.o.reddy).