Do you want to jump start your connection with joy in a mindful and meaningful way? Living in a turbulent and stressful time has left many of us feeling unhinged and overwhelmed. The pandemic and events of 2020 have changed nearly every aspect of our lives, and we are living in a time that feels vastly different than where we were at the end of 2019. This is truly a "Messy Middle," and it has left many of us feeling frazzled and detached from our purpose and our joy. Enter: A mindful approach to building joy, connection, and fulfillment into your life, starting right now. This tiny book is chock full of the inspiration, intention, and actionable steps that you can take to bring more joy into your every day. Inspired by the podcast of the same name, you'll learn how to navigate the messy middle of difficult situations and hard times. Life lessons on how to reconnect with your joy are gleaned from conversations with both rock stars and candlestick makers; all curated by one rebellious podcaster with a big heart. "Joy is not something that simply happens to us. Joy is a choice and we must keep choosing it." - Henri Nouwen
As a mother, a wife, and a businesswoman, Kaia Roman always had a plan. But when her biggest plan, the business she cofounded, collapsed, Kaia found herself crushed by depression. And what felt even worse was that, with a husband and two kids relying on her to get out of bed, she didn't have a plan to move forward. Determined to turn her life around and put her ingrained habits of stress and anxiety behind her, Kaia decided to put everything else on hold and dedicate thirty days to the singular pursuit of joy. The results were astonishing—and lasted much longer than the initial monthlong project. In this uplifting and eye-opening memoir, Kaia uses her business savvy to create a concrete Joy Plan to get back on her feet fast. Using scientific research on hormones, neurotransmitters, and mindfulness, along with the daily dedication to creating a more joyful existence, Kaia teaches readers how to move past temporary happiness and succeed in creating joy that lasts. Complete with advice, exercises, and key takeaways, The Joy Plan is Kaia's step-by-step guide to how she, and everyone else, can ditch the negative and plan for the joy in their lives.
'A dad's account of heartbreak and hope' Daily Mail In 2017, illustrator and animator Gary Andrews suddenly lost his wife, Joy, to sepsis, leaving him a widower and single father to two young children. As a way of coping, Gary posted a doodle a day on Twitter, illustrating the ups and downs of family life after Joy's death. His drawings, which depict his and his children's pain, love and humour with an extraordinary honesty, have since resonated with people all over the world and have been shared tens of thousands of times online. Finding Joy brings together old and new drawings to tell Gary's story. The result is an astonishingly movingly, often funny and ultimately life affirming book that will help anyone on a grief journey of their own.
Is it possible for us to truly flourish in our work? Business executive Shundrawn Thomas reveals how work is intended to produce lasting value and should be meaningful and productive. Addressing issues of work ethic, character formation, and work-life synergy, Thomas helps us to a greater understanding of our abilities and passions, which in turn helps us find better harmony between what we do and who we are.
Millions of people are seeking vibrant mental health. Christian psychologist, Dr. Joy Bodzioch shares her belief that this comes as a gift to those living a life surrendered to God. After years of counseling people dealing with depression, insecurity, and negative thinking, she discovered the truth revealed by Jesus in the Beatitudes. His prescription for well-being calls for us to live in the center of God’s will as citizens of his kingdom. Discover Joy gives readers specific directions for experiencing Christian joy.
As a successful writer, keynote speaker, consultant, and seminar leader, Debrena Jackson Gandy has helped thousands of African-American women access their inner power and live life more joyfully and boldly. All the Joy You Can Stand: 101 Sacred Power Principles for Making Joy Real in Your Life is the eagerly anticipated follow-up to her best-seller, Sacred Pampering Principles. This engaging, thought-provoking book features 101 Power Principles that will help you tap into what brings you joy in your life and give you the spiritual tools to manifest the desires of your heart, including how to:Discover Your Sacred SelfStrengthen Your Gratitude MusclesIntegrate Renewal Into Your LifeBe a Sensuous WomanFree Your Creative GeniusCultivate Your IntuitionBecome a Spiritual GardenerBe the Architect of Your LifeExpand Your Joy Threshold Using insightful stories from her own life, as well as the lives of her readers, friends, and seminar and lecture participants, Debrena Jackson Gandy has written an uplifting and transformational get-real guide for women who want to develop their spiritual strength and actualize their divine potential. Whether it's freeing your spirit by learning to release and forgive, or discovering how to more gracefully move through life's cycles and seasons, here are proven answers for some of life's most difficult questions. Prepare to be challenged and to ask yourself, "How much joy can I stand?" For as Debrena says, the more joy you can stand, the more joy God gives you.
"In a time when tens of millions of people provide care for family members, older adults, and people with special needs, we should all be experts at it. Instead, we often struggle with caring for others while taking care of ourselves. In Take Good Care, author Cynthia Orange brings together compelling testimonies from a wide range of caregivers, advice from leading experts in the field, and her own hard-won wisdom to capture the subtle differences between caretaking and caregiving. With a foreword by Susan Allen Toth, the critically acclaimed author of No Saints around Here: A Caregiver's Days, this book shows us how and why caring for each other can be a mutually rewarding experience. It's easy to become overinvolved in another person's life and needs when giving care. Feeling burdened with expectations and resentments in a codependent relationship hinders a sense of joy, purpose, and engagement. Relationships require empathy and boundaries; with them, a codependent caretaker can transform into an intentional, self-aware, and compassionate caregiver"--
In a fast-paced world where you work far more than you relax and reflect, Suzanne Falter-Barns has made it her mission in life to inspire you to be "your sweet old self-the one you've always known was there." In Living Your Joy, she gives you the courage to trade the job you hate for the work you love, find time and space for creative expression, start your dream business, and live the life you have always wanted. Suzanne's fresh, funny, and utterly practical book helps you melt your fears and tap into the inner wisdom that is your true guide to fulfillment. Dozens of inspiring true stories and many exercises are designed to bring clarity to your thinking and help you master the nitty-gritty of getting from where you are to where you want to be; create your spiritual base camp; know when to leap and when not to leap; and discover the incredible value of emptiness. Master the essential art of staying focused and everything else you need to know to change your life for good-really good.
A BuzzFeed "Best Book of June 2021" From sixteen-year-old Dara McAnulty, a globally renowned figure in the youth climate activist movement, comes a memoir about loving the natural world and fighting to save it. Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of a year in Dara’s Northern Ireland home patch. Beginning in spring?when “the sparrows dig the moss from the guttering and the air is as puffed out as the robin’s chest?these diary entries about his connection to wildlife and the way he sees the world are vivid, evocative, and moving. As well as Dara’s intense connection to the natural world, Diary of a Young Naturalist captures his perspective as a teenager juggling exams, friendships, and a life of campaigning. We see his close-knit family, the disruptions of moving and changing schools, and the complexities of living with autism. “In writing this book,” writes Dara, “I have experienced challenges but also felt incredible joy, wonder, curiosity and excitement. In sharing this journey my hope is that people of all generations will not only understand autism a little more but also appreciate a child’s eye view on our delicate and changing biosphere.” Winner of the Wainwright Prize for UK nature writing and already sold into more than a dozen territories, Diary of a Young Naturalist is a triumphant debut from an important new voice.