Once upon a time in a land not so far away a young girl lived with her mother. One day, when she came home from school, she told her mother that one of the words she had learned was ‘joy.’ “Joy is such a small word. It seems like it would be very hard to find,” she told her mother. Now the little girl’s mother was a very wise woman, so she suggested to her daughter that she go out into the world to try to find joy.

Since the next day was a Saturday, the girl decided that she would get up very early and journey to find joy. She packed lunch and some water and went to bed thinking about where to look to find joy. She almost couldn’t sleep; she was so excited.

The next morning she woke very early, dressed quietly, grabbed her lunch and left the house. She brought along her friend and guardian dog, Dusty. As she started down the path to the road, the full moon lit her way, and the sky was a blanket of stars. She looked up and was filled with awe and wonder. Her heart moved in her chest, and she wondered at the feeling that came over her.

After she had walked a bit, the dawn began to break. She heard the birds calling to each other, and soon their songs filled the air. Again her heart moved in her chest, but she wasn’t sure exactly why. As the sun made its way over the horizon, the sky began to fill with incredibly beautiful colors – red, oranges, gold’s, purples. The feeling in her chest grew and grew as she watched the sun rise over the hills in front of her.

As she continued on her way, she soon came to a meadow filled with wildflowers. She was almost overwhelmed by the colors and the scents of the flowers. As she walked through the meadow, she heard the buzzing of bees and saw hundreds of butterflies flitting among the blossoms. All of her senses were engaged in the sights, sounds, and scents of the meadow, and once again her heart moved.

Just past the meadow she came to a forest. As she walked along the path, she looked up to see a hawk soaring overhead; a woodpecker knocked on a tall pine; squirrels chattered at her from their safe perches in the branches; she glimpsed a deer and her fawn in the distance; the smell of trees and forest filled her nostrils; a babbling brook meandered along the trail, flashing silver in the sunlight. And her heart moved in her chest.

She was feeling a bit tired and hungry, so she and Dusty sat down with their backs to an ancient tree. As she sat on the ground, with her back against the mother tree, she could feel a tingling energy that filled her up and moved her heart once more. Sharing her lunch with Dusty, she patted his soft coat. He wagged his tail and looked at her with love in his eyes. Again her heart moved.

It was the heat of the day, and she fell into a deep sleep with Dusty’s head in her lap. In her dream, the spirit of the ancient tree came to her as a wise old woman. “I understand that you are looking for joy,” said the old woman. “And have you found it yet?” she asked.

The girl recounted her day to the old woman. “I have felt my heart move, but I really don’t know where to look for joy. Is it a treasure, something that I am supposed to find? Or is it something I am supposed to do?”

The tree spirit looked deeply into the girl’s eyes. “When your heart moved, that was joy. When you opened your senses to the world around you, that was joy. When you saw the love in Dusty’s eyes, that was joy. Your heart moves when you feel connected to all that is, when you recognize the beauty around you, when you pay attention to the love that flows between you and the creatures of the earth. You don’t have to look for joy, you just have to let it in. Especially when the worries of the world bring you grief, open your senses to what you can see, touch, smell, hear, and taste. Put your bare feet into the grass; look up to the sky; open your heart. Open yourself to the beauty of each moment. Even when your heart is breaking, you can still find joy.” With that, the old woman dissolved back into the tree, and the girl slowly woke. Dusty thumped his tail, and licked her face, his entire body wriggling with delight. He could certainly find joy in every moment.

As the two of them made their way back home, the girl felt her heart move in gratitude for the world around her. She understood that finding joy is opening to the world  and finding connection and gratitude. It isn’t something to do, but it is a treasure to find. And it is found in the ordinary moments of ordinary days when one is open and connected to the beauty that is all around.

Barbara Garland
September, 2023