What a great week! My husband's photography got accepted into a very selective show and a new shop owner wants to talk about showcasing his photos in her cafe. My best friend just became a grandmother for a second time. Another dear friend told me all the steps she's taking to prepare for a big change coming up in her life. I learned a pregnant friend's mother is going to get to stay with her for two months once the baby arrives; she's from Europe and this is a huge deal. My daughter got a gorgeous new haircut. My son served as ball boy for a regional tournament game and was thrilled to hear his name called over the loudspeaker.
You might have noted everything that made me happy happened to other people, not to me. Yet it was a really great week; I experienced true joy as I heard their happy news or saw their huge smiles. I think because I've been working on increasing my empathy I actually shared their feelings and emotions.
If we wait for great things to happen to us, we are only happy every so often. But if we look around, there are plenty of ways to increase our joy by sharing in the joy of others. A Swedish proverb says, “Shared joy is double joy; Shared sorrow is half a sorrow.”
Want more joy? Share in someone else's. (Just don't make it about yourself!)
Photo by Timon Studler on Unsplash