March is National Reading Month so why not have a list of parenting books to have by your side for guidance, support and inspiration. This month’s blogs will focus on books I have on my shelf.❤︎ Slowing down, enjoying the simpler moments in our daily lives is a mission here at The Essentialist Family. I try to inspire other families to do just that! Months ago, I read Ingrid Fetell Lee’s, Joyful, The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. I can’t help but think if others read this, maybe they’ll notice the joy that surrounds each of us in the most basic ways. Finding moments of joy with everyday objects can make us smile and will make long days a little brighter. Fill your home with photos of family trips and adventures. Display those art projects from school instead of tossing or storing them in a bin. I use blue painter’s tape to stick drawings on our pantry door-instant smiles! My oldest is painting canvases in a fury so I stood them up along the wainscoting in our dining room for instant art for all to admire. As a family, we collect seas shells and rocks in the shape of hearts. We place them in glass jars, along windowsills and even on my writing desk to remind me of happy trips to different beaches. Even in a rough moment, a glance at those shells restores my peace and makes me smile. Joy is individual-what gives me happiness, is not what brings you contentment. Lee takes readers on a journey of self-discovery; acknowledging joy in everyday pleasures or in the mundane. “The problem is that without joy, we may be surviving, but we are not thriving. If we rarely laugh or play, if we never have glimpses of magic or flashes of transcendence or bursts of celebration, then no matter how well fed and comfortable we are, we are not truly alive.” Her Joyful Tooklit provides a step-by-step guide of joyfinding. Couldn’t we all use a little more of joyfinding in our lives?! I’m not sure there’s a better activity to build connections with your loved ones but to discover what brings you joy together. Going on nature walks, taste-testing local ice cream, training for a 5K, serving lunch at a meal center, learning a new language, building a row boat or cooking for another family are all fun ways to discover joy. So, gather up your family and go joyfinding. ❤︎ Don’t forget to share what you discovered on Facebook at Lauri Diamantis. And kindly follow this blog for more tips of living Simply Happier❤︎ |
the Essentialist Family 