As I move forward in my journey of healing, I become aware that I must seriously choose to be joyful every single day. In February, I chose the theme of healing with joy!
It takes courage to open ourselves up to joy.
– Brené Brown
Healing With Joy
Choosing joy in the midst of pain is a brave decision and one that I didn’t make lightly.
Some questions I asked myself at the start of the month:
What do you love to do?
Read, write, create, watch movies, listen to music, sing out loud. Do small things that bring joy – light a scented candle, joss sticks, take photographs of Nature. Have good conversation over good food. Laugh and be silly.
Where do you love being?
At home or in my studio – both are comfortable places where I can be myself. But I also enjoy being in Nature – just still – watching a sunrise or a sunset, especially near a beach.
What kind of community do you want?
This is very interesting because community is definitely on my list this year. I want to be part of a life-giving community – people who are self-aware, spiritual, kind and reach out to others to offer support without judgement. A community where I can laugh out loud, find a shoulder to sob on and to be a shoulder to someone else.
Where does such a community exist?
Presently in my head! I really don’t know. It’s really difficult for me to find people, I gel with. I guess I have create one. It’s a necessary part of my healing.
My Intention for February
To continue to be open to healing and seek opportunities to be joyful. Turning everything into an opportunity for joy – my work, my chores, walking, communicating …
How Did My Journey With My Word Go?
What went well
I made reading lists, movie lists, song playlists and tried to enjoy most of them.
José and I were quite regular with our evening walks and this was a joyful experience. We talked, we met and played with stray dogs, we stopped at a park and watched children play and I took a lot of pictures. I shared a picture a day with my thoughts on Instagram and I’m really happy with the comments on my posts on Instagram and Facebook where I reshare. It’s strange that I almost gave up on Instagram at the end of last year!
I had interesting conversations with a few old friends and also managed to extend kindness and assistance to some people in need of it. This brought me joy!
I spent more time in quiet and reflection and delved deeper into understanding scripture and grew in faith. At the end of last month, I chose a scripture verse for my word – a reassurance that I need:
For I will restore health to you and your wounds I will heal. – Jeremiah 30:17
Two blogger friends of mine – Shalini and Parul – revived a feature called #FridayReflections in a new format and I enjoyed reconnecting with them and other bloggers.
Not so pleasant
My month had some downs with a few painful interactions. But each of these, underlined my need to protect my heart and stand up for myself. I tried, as much as possible, to respond to these situations keeping my principles in mind. They did drain me and briefly take away my joy, but I’ve attempted to bounce back each time. These situations made me realise that I’ve come quite a long way in my healing journey and for that I’m grateful.
Overall, in February, I also gave myself a lot more grace and didn’t allow guilt to keep me from joy!
Lisa Burgess has some great ideas for how to stay engaged with your word in her Word of The Year update/link up for February and I’m working on them.
How’s your journey with your Word of the Year going?
Very meticulously explained the month’s take home experiences. Need to take a lesson or two about how to do this.
Glad it made sense to you, Bernie.
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..Enjoy Many Miracle Mornings
I haven’t even started working on my word of the year which is Mindfulness. Life’s hectic and other things taking up on priority. Your post is a reminder to me to try working on being mindful.
I understand. It’s taken me quite a while to make this a meaningful process. Having a monthly theme helps me keep my word in focus.
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..Words That Inspired Me In February 2023
Hi Corinne – I’ve been reading your FB posts each day and really like how intentional you’re being with your healing journey. Life will never be perfect, and we’ll always have issues to deal with, but there are glimmers of joy everywhere and we get to choose what we focus on. I’m getting much better at removing toxic people and situations from my life (dealing with the hurt) and moving forward with the people and things that are good for my heart and soul. We’re too old to keep putting up with poor relationships and unhealthy environments.
I am finally getting the time to catch up with reading all the posts . Your posts give me hope, Even when I am not writing and am out of touch with everything and everyone because of stuff happening at home, everytime I see a post of yours on instagram or here, I know I will come back to writing and this community that you have built. You are an inspiration and a bond that keeps all of us together.
It’s a great idea to focus on one aspect of your word of the year every month.
Linda recently posted..Free Verse Friday, March 2023
Healing with joy – what a beautiful theme that I need for myself as well, Corinne. I’ve been trying to be more intentional about being present with and loving those around me. And that brings me joy! I’d love to find an in-person community specifically related to grief healing, but I haven’t found my people yet either. If we were neighbors, I’d got a hunch you would be my kind of IRL people. 🙂 Glad you added this to our One Word linkup!
I love how you are using your word and healing with joy, while embracing the unhealed parts.
It’s inspiring to read this post, Cory,
I wish you a soothing year of healings.
Natasha recently posted..St. Nicholas is in Town | Winter Solstice | Christmas | Yule
So glad to see you posts on Insta and FB these days, Corinne! They feel so positive, heartfelt, honest and thought-provoking! I’ve not had a great month in Feb but am trying to be grateful for all the blessings that came my way—every little of it made sense to me and brought be back to myself stronger than before!
Corinne, I love the way you engage so fully with your word. The good, the bad and the in-between, looking for a deeper understanding, what an amazing month!