May 4, 2026

Recently my husband dropped off some items to our local trash/recycle center and swap shop. As he drove into our driveway afterwards, he got out of the truck holding up something. From the living room window, I could not tell what it was. He walked into our house. I could see by the expression on his lips and the sparkle in his eyes, he had found a little joy.

“Guess what I found,” he replied as he handed me an old cassette tape. “I saw this lying on the table in the swap shop.”

He passed the relic over to me to read, “The Cars: Greatest Hits.”

“Now, I have something to play on my boom box in my office!”

My husband bought that 1980s Sony dual cassette-recorder a couple of years ago, purely out of nostalgia. He had an identical model when he was in college.  Yet, it has gathered more dust than used. I bit my tongue and did not say a word as this find was like finding gold and it bought him joy and happiness.

I asked myself, what sparks joy or bring joy to me? Well, this blog does. I think I have experienced more joy in this last year while researching and writing this blog on topics that create curiosity in me. I love to learn new things; I love to read about diverse topics and share what I have learned. Although I am not a teacher in a professional sense, I see my blog as a joyful teaching tool.

Music, dancing, and singing bring me pockets of joy. I love to sing in the car or in my bedroom and I like to dance. Sometimes, I dance for a break. I also find joy watching videos of others dancing.

I asked myself, “Is there a difference between joy and happiness? In my own research on joy, I found that even some experts have used these terms interchangeably. Other experts clearly define each.

According to Brene Brown, author and researcher, Joy has an internal, spiritual connection, whereas happiness is often temporary and linked to external circumstances. Joy is an emotion that we all seek. It is inextricable from gratitude, said Brown.

Joy is not a fleeting emotion, but a spiritual practice deeply connected to gratitude, which is essential for “wholehearted living,” said Brown. Joy is the most vulnerable human emotion, often feared more than grief or shame because we fear losing it.

“We are so afraid of losing joy or it will be taken away, that it is important for developing our tolerance for vulnerability, as both are key to be grateful and happy,” commented Brown.

Whereas, author Ingrid Fetell Lee, designer and author of Joyful, challenged the popular notion that joy only comes from within and explores how seemly mundane spaces and objects that we interact with have surprising and powerful effects on our mood.

When Lee asked people what brought joy to them, among the responses were:  ice cream cone with sprinkles, rainbow in the sky, fireworks, cherry blossoms, swimming pools, hot air balloons, tree houses, etc. These things were not just joyful for a few people: they are joyful to everyone…universally joyful.

It took ten years for Lee to understand the relationship between the physical world and the mysterious, quixotic emotion we call joy. Joy is linked to the physical world, and it can be a powerful resource to us in creating happier and health lives. As Lee has learned, physical items can represent joy to us as well.

Payal Koul notes that many living in ancient civilizations did not actively pursue happiness. In the Indus Valley civilization, life emphasized simplicity and practices such as yoga. Yoga was more than exercise; it was a path to inner connection that aligned body and mind, fostering harmony and self-awareness. Joy grew out of that harmony and simplicity.

Each moment of joy is small, but over time, they add up to more than the sum of their parts shared by Lee. In addition, what we should be doing is embracing joy and finding ways to put ourselves in the path of it more often.

Lee outlines the benefits of Joy:

1. Joy brings us into the present.  “Joy, on the other hand,” said Lee, “absorbs us in the present moment. It engages our senses, letting us tune out our worries about what might be wrong with our lives for a little while.”
2. Joy broadens our minds. Research shows that experiences of joy lead us to take a broader, more open-minded view of the world. We can become more exploratory and flexible.
3. Joy attracts others. Emotions such as joy are highly contagious and positive. Not fake enthusiasm, but real, genuine joy that we have can and does attract others.
4. Joy improves our health. Research has shown that for example, people reporting regular positivity have s to have lower cortisol, inflammation, and blood pressure.
5. Joy begets more joy. Research has shown that when we feel that burst of joy, we see more joy in the world around us, putting us in a positive mood. As researchers like to call it the upward spirals. The small burst of emotion kicks off a larger sequence of events that lead to greater well-being.

According to Erika Long, when we sit with one of the joy practices such as gratitude, empathetic joy, appreciation during a meditation session, or for brief moments throughout the day, there may arise within us a deeply felt sense that we have a far greater capacity for happiness than we often believe.  

Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe recommends diversifying our sources to fill us with happiness. Instead, cultivate pockets of joy and meaning in multiple areas of your life such as work, hobbies, relationships, and daily rituals. What seems like an ordinary task can feel meaningful and purposeful if it honors your values or takes care of people you love. It could be making that family recipe for apple pie or crocheting a scarf for a grandchild.

Celebrate moments of joy.  Pause, then be in the moment to fully experience it.

Ask yourself, what is something that brings me a little spark of joy?

Resources:

Image retrieved on /5/1/2026 from https://www.magnific.com/free-vector/watercolor-joy-word-vector-clipart_34101787.htm

Amodeo, John. “The Problem with Striving for Fun Rather Than abiding in Joy. “3/82025. Retrieved on 5/1/2026 from Retrieved on 5/1/2026 from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/intimacy-a-path-toward-spirituality/202312/the-problem-with-striving-for-fun-rather-than

Brown, Brene and Oprah Winfrey. “Joy and Gratitude” video. Retrieved on 4/25/2026 from https://grateful.org/resource/brene-brown-on-joy-and-gratitude/

Gore, Amanda. “How to Develop a Joy Mindset.” Retrieved on 4/1/2026 from https://amandagore.com/how-to-develop-a-joy-mindset/

Gore, Amanda. Joy is an Inside Job and it is Free. Head2Heart. ©March 2014.

Gore, Amanda. “The Secret Formula for Joy.” TEDxNoosa 2014 video. Retrieved on 4/24/2026 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgFczqJuklg

Hanley-Dafoe, Ed. D, Robyne. “Contentment is an Inside Job.” 7/11/2025. Retrieved on 5/1/2026 from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/everyday-resilience/202507/contentment-is-an-inside-job

Koul, Payal. “The Path to Inner Joy: Why Happiness Lies Within, not Outside.” 10/29/2024. Retrieved on 4/24/2026 from https://medium.com/illumination/the-path-to-inner-joy-why-happiness-lies-within-not-outside-74d80dd20060

Lee, Ingrid Fetell. Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. Little Brown Spark, Hatchette Book Group, New York. ©2018

Lee, Ingrid Fetell. “Where Joy Hides and How to Find it.” TED Talk, 6/11/2018. Retrieved on 5/1/2026 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_u2WFTfbcg

Lee, Ingrid Fetell. “Why the Secret to Happiness Might be Joy?” 5/14/2018. Retrieved on 4/24/2026 from https://aestheticsofjoy.com/why-the-secret-to-happiness-might-be-joy/

Long, Erika. “Joy is an Inside Job.” 10/25/2020. Retrieved on 4/24/2026 from https://www.communitymindfulnessproject.org/blogposts/2020/10/25/joy-is-an-inside-job

Vilhauer, Ph.D., Jennice. “Finding Joy: How Positive Anticipation Boosts Your Happiness.” Retrieved on 4/24/2026 from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-forward/202405/finding-joy-how-positive-anticipation-boosts-your-happiness