TL;DR:
- Being “caught off guard” can invite unexpected joy instead of disruption.
- Embracing small moments helps us stay present and find happiness in daily life.
- Letting joy surprise us can make life richer and more fulfilling.
When you hear the phrase, “get caught off guard” do you think of being suddenly startled negatively? Like something goes left and it takes a minute to recover and stabilize? I know I do. What would happen if we welcomed the opportunity to be caught off guard to feel happiness and joy? Stay with me.
Kate Bowler, professor at Duke University and the host of the Everything Happens podcast recently said, “Our lives are emotionally expensive.” In other words, if we live fully lived lives as fully formed grown-ups, it will sometimes feel costly. If joy is the oxygen for doing hard things, how can we remain as present as possible so as not to miss out on some joy.?
Staying Present
Most of you know I love my phone reminders app. Not only does it help me remember things I HAVE to do, it reminds me of the things I WANT to do, especially how I want to move through my days. My first reminder is: Love God. Love People. Do Good Things. The second reminder is: Let me not miss today. I’ve kept these two reminders at the top of my list for years. I want to be mindful amidst all the tasks, to-dos, and things so I do not miss THE things. The lovely things. The beautiful things. The joyful things. The tender things. The awe-inspiring things. The tiny-miracles-snuck-into-the-day-things. If I am so hyper-focused on tasks, I may miss them. I know that about myself.
Dr. Emiliana Simon Thomas, Director at Greater Good Science Center at the University of California Berkeley reminds us, “Rather than thinking joy is something that happens to you, it may make sense to think of it as a skill you can get better at through practice.”
Here’s to being caught off guard by something beautiful. Here’s to being disrupted by something amazing or extraordinarily ordinary that causes us to veer left and temporarily destabilize. Click To TweetDiscover Joy
Our invitation this week is to practice and get better at discovering joy. To do this, we can become open to getting caught off guard. How might it look if we slowed down just enough to stay open—open to being surprised, even for a moment—so that we’re startled into noticing beauty, joy, or happiness? Let’s welcome the opportunity to get startled, go left, and take a minute to re-stabilize.
I want to be disrupted. I long to be startled out of the mundane and routine to find something extraordinary in the ordinary:
- To notice the way the leaves fall down on a windy day.
- To notice the subtle smile from a student, colleague, or family member.
- To notice the beauty in the silence when we first wake up.
- To see that harvest moon.
- To get still enough to notice.
Let’s Not Miss Today
I will close with a poem I keep in my bedroom and read every day. I found it at a flea market in Cape May, New Jersey. It startled me and caught me off guard in the most beautiful way. Mary Jean Irion writes, “Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.”
Here’s to being caught off guard by something beautiful. Here’s to being disrupted by something amazing or extraordinarily ordinary that causes us to veer left and temporarily destabilize.
Let’s get caught off guard and not miss today.
About Suzanne Dailey
Suzanne Dailey is a proud member of the Teach Better Family! She is an instructional coach in the Central Bucks School District where she has the honor and joy of working with elementary teachers and students in 15 buildings. Suzanne is Nationally Board Certified, a Fellow of the National Writing Project, and has a master’s degree in Reading. She is dedicated to nurturing and developing the whole child and teacher. Suzanne lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.
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