Full of the joy of life

I am full of the joy of life. Literally, full and overflowing with joy. The sun is shining in magnificent glory on my little world around me.

The sky is just a little bit bluer, the trees are just a little bit greener … I just feel that there is so much to be grateful for.

The reason for my joy is simple. We are alive, we are loved and we are surrounded by possibility. We have options, we have choices and I love waking up every single morning and making them.

Sure, I don’t always make the best choices (like the bottle of wine last night was probably not the best choice for a cracking Monday morning!) but they are my choices to make, my life to live.

My priorities are simple: raising my son is number one and the rest focus around our time together. And what a privilege that journey is, to watch him grow and make his own choices, to see him explore his options, to see him dedicate himself to pursuing his priorities in life.

Time with family and friends is the greatest gift we receive – an opportunity to love and be loved, to share our journey so that no matter the ups and downs the path will always take, we have each other to support, celebrate, nurture and hold.

I know, I’m sounding just too damn full of the joy of life for no real apparent reason – but that’s the whole point. All it takes is the smile of a child, the sun shining, the laughter of friends – if you are open to feeling the joy in the simple things, then life is just a magnificent place to be.

Of course dark things happen – scary, violent, unexpected nasty surprises can pop up in life and knock you for six. But falling back on the most simple of truths – that you are alive, that you have choices – that there is a life so worth living – helps steer us through the hard times and reminds us of all that matters – love. Love for your self, love for your family, love for this life that we have.

I received the shocking news that a friend died unexpectedly a few days ago. Grief is a tangled process, but the outcome for me is just how magnificent every day that we have with each other is.

What a woman wants is to feel nothing but joy every day, but what a woman needs to realise is that she can choose to see that simply by remembering all that really matters is we are given the CHANCE to make our own choices every day that we wake up.

Please make the most of it, and see it for the gift that it is.

Love each other and look after each other. See the joy in all that surrounds you, because that is what it’s really about.

And when you really open your eyes to the simple joy of being alive, well all the colours are just that little bit brighter.

With much love,

Abby x