Creativity and Risk: The Joy Diet - Week Six

Bravely overcoming one small fear gives you the courage to take on the next.
(Daisaku Ikeda)

It is hard to believe that we’re well into the middle of Martha Beck’s book, The Joy Diet. It seems to me that every week I fall behind—and then I remember this is not a race.

I am beginning to accept that I won’t be implementing this diet “by the book” but rather slowly folding it into my preexisting routines. Thinking about The Joy Diet as a practice instead of a requirement has softened me in a way that is hard to describe.

Thank you for showing me that we are all on this journey together. Reading so many blogs on the same topic has helped me realize there is no right or wrong way to practice Joy.

I am living between the sentences in Beck’s narrative and discovering simple moments that were always there, even though I never noticed them before.

Yesterday was rough, but by the end of the day, I was content and happy. With your help, I found my smile. I took myself to Starbucks after work, where I enjoyed the comfort of a purple armchair and the sweet warmth of a pink Raspberry Chai Soy Latte.

The past two weeks of Creativity and Risk have blended together, and all I can say is that I am learning…

to try something different when the patterns of my actions hold me back.
to embrace mental yoga poses that make me feel uncomfortable.
to examine why some goals scare me. to be ok with being afraid.
to know I am ok.

I am excited to enjoy treats while I continue my practice of nothing, truth, desire, creativity and risk. Thank you again for sharing your journeys, you are all the best teachers in the world.