The Joy Hunt: How Mindfulness Helps You Notice More Joy

What the Blackbird Can Teach Us About Joy

Have you ever been outside just before dawn?

It’s still dark, and wonderfully quiet until, almost out of nowhere, the silence is broken by the beautiful song of the blackbird.

You might wonder where it’s been hiding.

Yet the truth is, the birds have been singing all along.  It's just that, as the day wakes up, the traffic, conversations and endless bustle drown out their song.

But once we decide to listen, it’s as though a curtain is lifted.

Suddenly, you hear birdsong everywhere.

Joy is a little bit like that too.

Hidden in the background of everyday life, quietly waiting for us to notice.

How the Brain Shapes Our Experience

Our brains are wonderfully efficient.

Every second, they filter thousands of pieces of information, deciding what deserves our attention and what can fade into the background.

Mindfulness recaptures our attention. 

We learn to notice what our mind gets up to and those are the moments where we build awareness.

An awareness we can use to set new intentions.

And once we set that intention, our attention naturally seeks ways to fulfil it.

Finding More Joy

Imagine if that noticing could help you to find more joy.

Not the sort of joy that appears at the end of our to do list.

Not the sort of joy we have to earn.

Just tiny treasures of joy, waiting to be discovered.

Let’s Go Joy Hunting

Believe me, I understand the sceptics.

I used to be one of them.

But this week, we're going on a little joy hunt!

For the next seven days, keep a simple list.

Write down five moments each day that made you smile, pause or feel grateful.

They don't have to be extraordinary:

• A cup of tea.
• The smell of fresh rain.
• The bees bouncing on a lavender plant.
• That birdsong, just before the world wakes up.

You may be surprised by how quickly your attention begins to notice what has always been there.

See what happens. 

There is nothing to lose and everything to gain.  

So have fun with it.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like:

• Why We Chase Happiness
• Happiness vs Joy
• How Mindfulness Helps You Notice More Joy
• Practising Mindfulness When We Need It Most

Or, if you'd like a gentle daily practice, explore 365 Days of Mindfulness—a year's worth of guided mindfulness reflections and practices designed to help you meet life with greater awareness, kindness and joy.