Joy

I live in a very small town. When I take "the long way home" it takes 12 minutes. This is a new phenomenon for a girl who grew up in LA county and driving to Hollywood for date night wasn't even a thing. While no commute is craved, desired, coveted, it leaves very little time to decompress from work life and home life. These new COVID days make all time melt together and my 12 minutes can pass without even noticing. I'm one of the lucky few whose life has been marginally changed, in the Big Picture sense anyway. The monotony of work, home, work, home, work, home, work, home for the passed 4 months is intrinsically taking it's toll. I have beautiful escapes and tantalizing "after COVID" fantasies to keep me going but there are very few and far between In-The-Moment experiences to keep shit real right now. This is also becoming very apparent lately. 

Today, I got in my car after work, it was warm but not steaming hot like it has been. My Pandora connects and the song that comes on is fire! I open all my windows and start my 12 minute commute. The breeze is refreshing and cleansing, I feel it on my skin and the temperature was so perfect it feels smooth like sun kisses. I turn up my stereo as loud as it will go and sang so loud, and enjoyed every second of every minute of my 720 second drive home. 

This was unplanned, unscheduled joy. And I recognized it, as it was happening, and it was So Fucking Beautiful. Few and far between. But when you feel your heart swell, and all the weight of the world lift if even for a tiny second, please, breath into it. Underneath it. On top of it. Feel it. fully, completely and wholly. We can't afford to let even the smallest beautiful moments pass us by anymore. 

Love yourself. Love each other. Love your Joy.