I haven’t been on social media much lately. The Holidays combined with feeling a bit under the weather has had me hibernating. It’s been a good time to reflect on the past year and to call in my word for 2020. For the past several years I’ve been choosing a word on or around New Year’s Day to represent what I want to experience in the coming year. My word for 2019 was Adventure, and what a year of adventure it has been! (Note to Self: Remember to be specific!)

My word for 2020 >>>>JOY<<<<< has already been popping up for me in various ways, calling me to incorporate this powerful core emotion into all areas of my life.

Often we treat joy as an afterthought, a luxury to enjoy when we achieve our goals or as a reward for hard work. But JOY is essential to our health and well being. It keeps our heart healthy and infuses warmth, laughter, pleasure, happiness, play, and passion into everything we do. Joy keeps us going through the long haul and warms us during Winter’s darkest nights. It is the perfect antidote to our chaotic world.

Joy is soul food. It is the main ingredient in any act that produces happiness, laughter, beauty, sensuality, and play. Joy is what we endlessly search for in our journey to feel complete, to feel whole, to belong. Joy gently calls us to reconnect with our hearts. It is the sacred emotion that allows us to feel lovingly allied, both with The Divine and with humanity.

…from Soul of the Seasons: Creating Balance, Resilience, & Connection by Tapping the Wisdom of the Natural World.

Beginning January 1st, I’d like you to join me on a special Facebook page I have created dedicated to expressing and inciting more JOY. (To join click on: 90 Days of Joymongering.) On this public page you are welcome to post whatever makes you smile, whatever brings a giggle or makes your eyes light up. There are no rules with the exception that your posts must remain respectful. I want you to share with me those things that light up your life and bring you happiness, and I will do the same. Join me in bringing more light and warmth into the world.

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You may also want to read the segment The Core Emotion of Joy (in the chapter on Summer Fire) in my book, Soul of the Seasons: Creating Balance, Resilience, and Connection by Tapping the Wisdom of the Natural World. I encourage you to answer the questions and complete the exercises on pages 182 – 185.

I wish the very best for you in 2020. May this be the year your heart cracks wide open to love. With Warmth and Abundant Joy, Melody