Life can be hard. Joy is easy.

Lately, joy has been flowing to me a lot more easily. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment it happened. Like most things, it didn’t happen overnight, but recently I’ve realized that I have a lot of joy in just living.

I’ll pause when reaching toward my morning tea, feel the warmth of the sun on my arm and think, “I love the sun.” It reminds me that no matter what, the sun will continue to rise.

I’ll find myself laughing out loud at a silly, cute moment in a book I’m reading and think “I am sitting in my home alone and laughing out loud because another person took their time to write these words.” I laugh again at how silly I would look to someone else, laughing alone staring at my book.

I’ll feel my eyes get a little misty, mid sentence, while looking at my friends on a video call and think, “How am I so lucky to get to know these people.” I get to live life with them.

Lately, it’s been the moments that I least expect that cause me the most joy: a pen writing beautifully, a DMed roast from a friend when I’m acting unhinged, remembering where I was and realizing I was the one who let me free; they hit me, and I can’t help but be happy. Lately, joy has been flowing to me a lot more easily, and I’m happy to drown in the flow.