Joy is not a feeling that comes naturally to me. I wish it was. I have been working on it this year—finding ways to grow joy in my life. And by joy, I mean that inner feeling of contentment and peace no matter what circumstances I am facing.

I’ve been thinking a lot about peace lately. What it is. What it isn’t. How I need more of it. How I’ve been going about it all wrong.

I think being gentle can easily be mistaken as passivity, timidity or weakness, but let’s look at gentleness another way…

In the past, my mornings were frequently consumed by thoughts like, “What do I wear? Do I look good in this? Will other people like what I’m wearing? Do I look cute enough? Do I look professional enough?

How often do things go exactly as you planned? And when things go a bit awry, how often does it knock you off kilter? It happens to me more often than I’d like. I set out do so something, expect a certain outcome, another takes place and I can get frustrated, hurt, annoyed or even angry.

Trust is a daily choice for me. Without trust, I cannot surrender and I cannot have faith.

…I didn’t stop believing in God, but I had no relationship with *him…

Perhaps we all start out as gentle little humans. Finding joy, contentment and peace in almost anything. As we get older, we become aware of the heartache life can bring.

As with yoga, so it is with life. Transitions and change are always happening.

I have those days where seemingly out of nowhere I feel blah. Or one little thing can turn a perfectly fine day to a grey one. The blah can cause all kinds of problems if I don’t grab hold of it and put it in it’s place.