FINDING JOY IN THE MUNDANE
It's the peak of a new week and you're already tired and discouraged . Maybe your 9-5pm job stresses the living daylights out of you, maybe you're a student and classes seem all too overwhelming and it seems like you are losing joy in the ordinary mundane tasks, from slugging away behind your laptop to errands, studies and family life somehow, life has lost its true essence to you.
Read with me what scripture informs below:
God most definitely wants us to be happy. Psalm 37:4 reads, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” And Psalm 126:2 says, “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.” In fact, God tells us to be happy more times in Scripture than any other command
Many of us treat joy like our mothers treat “the good silverware” — only brought out for special occasions.
IT'S TIME TO BRING YOUR JOY BACK!!!
Let’s not despise the mundane tasks but instead choose joy in the midst of the mundane.
May we withstand the hardships of daily life and bring comfort, rest, love and joy to those in our home who are facing hardships as well.
When the going gets tough – remember this:
“in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” ~Romans 8:37
Lean hard on God to give you strength throughout all the seasons of your life – single, married, with kids or no kids in the home – He loves you so and will never leave you nor forsake you!
Refreshing our soul daily in the word of God is soo important before we start our day, I've found this method along with worship in the morning before rushing off to work, calms my spirit and sparks happiness and joy which uplifts my mood. It's soo refreshing and can be compared to a lemonade on a sunny day. (haha) I encourage to you to start your mornings strong, not with just a cup of coffee or breakfast but some soul food to satisfy you throughout the day/week. You may encounter some challenges in your day, a mean boss, a lazy co-worker, a difficult task/assignment and that may just be the very thing awaiting to steal your joy for the entire day or week; when we start our mornings strong with God, we can rely on his word to carry us through our very own mundane routine/tasks.
I endorse this strongly brothers and sisters, it works for me!
An Atmosphere change is also very vital. Maybe your work space/study area is very dull and dim, spice things up a bit and place something meaningful to you on your desks that reminds you of joy/happiness/excitement/peace E.g. a picture, plant or plaque or even play your favorite music once permissible . I personally do this.
BELOW ARE A FEW ADDITIONAL IDEAS YOU CAN TRY TO KICK IN THE JOY IN YOUR MUNDANE TASKS
Combine the mundane task with an enjoyable task.
Turn the task into a game or personal challenge.
Declutter your space
Change your mindset.
Ask for help or someone to join you.
Reward yourself in moderation
Savor a job well done.
Find a fulfilling hobby.
Include some "you" time during your busy schedules
(Exercise, self care, road trips, reading, cooking your favorite meal, hanging out with a buddy)
“Being happy doesn’t mean everything is perfect. It means you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.” ~Unknown
It’s the question we’re all trying to answer: What is happiness and how do we get it? We fill our lives with the busyness of searching for happiness in many things, yet it’s possible that the very pursuit is taking us further away from the goal.
“Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments—often ordinary moments. Sometimes we miss out on the bursts of joy because we’re too busy chasing down extraordinary moments.”
Happiness is not about a final destination of pure perfection, but more about a journey through life, with moments of perfection sprinkled throughout, if we just stop to notice them.
So how do we find those moments within our own lives and ensure we can get more of them to create a life full of happiness?
There are two main ingredients for experiencing joy every day.
The first is living in the present.
How can we be joyful if we’re too busy worrying about the future or going over the past? And how can we be joyful if we’re too busy?
Take time to smell the roses and be in the now; that’s where the joy is.
People wait all week for Friday, all year for summer, and all their lives for happiness, but by the same token if we are always rushing to get to the next place, we can’t take time to enjoy where we are.
The second ingredient for happiness is gratitude. If we appreciate all that we’re fortunate to have, rather than spending our time and energy going after what we don’t have, we’ll experience more joy.
In our consumer-driven society, we’ve put too much emphasis on having many things—bigger houses, better cars, the latest in fashion.
Next time you’re sitting in a traffic jam, rather than becoming resentful of the delay or whisked away in a daydream, why not take a moment to see what you can appreciate?
Maybe it’s the nature outside, the sound of the birds, the sun shining, or just the fact you have a car to drive in and somewhere to be going.
These are basically the simple recipes to a joyful life even in the mundane. Bask in all that is good in your life right now and feel your spirit lifted. We are only given one life on earth, let's not waste it complaining, displaying bitterness/hatred to our loved ones and really take the time to understand how precious this gift of life is.
God bless you as you go forth in joy and gratitude today.
Much Love Meera, #Godsdesign