I had posted a blog about my recent health struggles and how I relied on so many people for support, comfort, and connection. After the post, I experienced a lot of vulnerability – that felt both a relief and also very scary. For me, vulnerability is about being seen, being whole, and being real with complete acceptance. I was willing to weigh the risk of sharing a private matter because I knew how much it has influenced my life and business. I knew by opening up about a deeper part of my life, I was giving permission for other people to do the same. I decided that exposing my heart was more important than what others might think about me.

What I had not expected after publishing the post was the outpouring of love and support from friends and complete strangers who not only thanked me for sharing about my personal experiences, but took time to send me their vulnerable stories as well. People from various countries revealed their personal struggles going on in their life. This connection gave me the opportunity to have a real dialog about what scares us, frees us, and what gives us hope. Even the word “struggle” began to turn into something a bit more kinder and gentler.

As I continue to embrace uncertainty (with open arms), I have learned that many of my friends and readers of my blog are embracing uncertainty as well. I have discovered that many folks are dealing with their own personal journeys and have been inspired to reach out and ask for help.

As we reach out, we invite others to do the same. When we extend a hand, we show that support is always available.

I invite anyone who is holding in a difficult issue to reach out. Ask. Receive. Allow yourself to be embraced by unconditional support and love. I know how difficult vulnerability is. What I have realized is that vulnerability, however scary, is less terrifying than invisibility.

Thank you to all who have extended their hand to me. I continue to be touched by all the tremendous generosity of support and kindness.

We really are on this road together – hand in hand.

“…But every time we allow ourselves to lean into joy and give into those moments, we build resilience and we cultivate joy.” ~Brene Brown

During the month of March, I taught a teleseminar on Cultivating Joy. During the course I shared with participants, “How wonderful to know that we cultivate joy moment by moment. Breath by breath.”

Leaning into joy means recognizing the gifts of ordinary moments. It means accepting joy when it comes. If you can experience a little joy, then you can experience a lot of joy. It means seeing joy in ordinary moments.

As the course emerged, I heard folks share their “fear of joy” or foreboding joy – the feelings that joy will go away and something worse is just lurking around the corner. I name it the voice in our head that says, “This is too good to be true.” Yet, when I asked participants to share about their experiences of joy, here is some of what people shared.

Sitting down with my family for dinner. Taking long walks. Hearing laughter from my children. Having my Starbucks coffee in the morning. Watching a movie with my husband and dogs. Falling in love. Spending time with my parents. Shopping with my friends.

Joy comes in ordinary moments. Joy means being willing to be vulnerable. Rather than crave more joy, perhaps we can recognize when we are feeling joy.

How can we cultivate joy more? We can stay in the present moment. We can breathe in joy and exhale joy. We can be grateful and celebrate what we have – everyday.

Yes, joy will shift in moments of sorrow and loss. We can lean into joy and learn from our heartbreak and build resilience and hope and more joy. When we appreciate the ordinary moments then joy becomes part of who we are.