I’m frequently asked how I have time to engage in the volume of reflective writing that I do, given everything else going on in my life.  Typically, someone who has just as much or more going on in his/her life asks me.  In fact that’s always the case.  Actually, I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t have as much or more going on in his/her life as I do.  Seems like the way life is.  Maybe it’s just the circle of busy learners, parents, educators, and other dedicated, hard working professionals that I run in.  Regardless, my answer remains the same: reflective writing is one of the things I have going on.  It’s an essential part of the mix that I could not do without.

Reflective writing is one of the primary activities that perpetuate positive progress in my life, both personal and professional.  It’s among other essential activities, processes, and ideas that combine to make me whole.  How do I have time to breath?  How do I have time to eat?  How do I have time to sleep?  I’m not sure.  I simply do, and in fact, in order to function, I must.

I feel the same way about Joy.  Joy is as essential an ingredient in my positive progress as reflective writing or anything else (maybe even more essential).  I believe with conviction that it has a powerful positive impact on others as well.

I view joy as a sort of container in which many other ingredients live.  In my mind (and in my life), Joy is something like a smoothie.  There might be bananas, blueberries, yogurt, milk, protein powder, and whatever else inside, but when it’s blended well, they each become part of one thing…the smoothie.  For a smoothie to exist, all of what’s inside of it has to exist too.  One cool thing about smoothies is that there are many kinds.  In fact, smoothies can be personalized in just about any way you can think of.  What would you put in a smoothie?

Similarly, there are many kinds of joy.  Joy doesn’t necessarily mean jumping up and down, screeching with excitement, and wearing an uncontrollable perma-smile that starts at one ear and ends at the other.  Certainly, that sounds joyful, but again, it’s just one kind of joy.  It’s the “over the moon, psyched out of your mind, can’t contain your enthusiasm” kind of joy.  It’s a good one.  There’s also the “serene, sipping a cup of coffee at a campsite early in the morning when everyone else is asleep, watching the sun come up over the lake” kind.  There’s the “slightly scary but awe-inspiring becoming a dad for the first time” kind.  There’s lot’s of kinds; to many to list; to many to know.

There are loud kinds and there are quiet kinds, there are fast kinds and there are slow kinds, there are gigantic kinds and there are tiny kinds.  There are all kinds of kinds.  We share and can identify with some of the kinds, and then there are those kinds that will forever be unique to certain people.  Each individual has some of his/her own kinds.  And while one person may not recognize why a kind works for someone else, each kind is just as meaningful and important as the next.  I don’t like strawberries in my smoothies but I know people who do.  In fact, I know people who love strawberries in their smoothies.

As a parent and an educational leader I think that a good step in perpetuating cultures of positive progress (a common goal among the group) is to find, collect, and communicate the joy that exists all around you.  It truly is everywhere.  Parents get it from things like watching their kids grow, kids get it from things like playing, reading, and pretending, and teachers get it from things like learning, collaborating, and even finding brief moments to relax (occasionally).  Where do you find it?

My advice is to think about that, and to work hard at putting different kinds of joy ingredients together as frequently as possible.  There are so many ways you could approach it.  How about a joy ingredients bulletin board in your classroom or in the front hallway of your school?  Kids, teachers, parents, and anyone else who feel so moved could write, post pictures, display art, or communicate the kinds of joy they feel in various other ways.

How about compiling classroom joy cookbook?  You could work with your students on their conceptualizations of joy and have them identify and submit some of their joy ingredients every time they feel some joy?  You could build some great joy recipes recipes, and then…you could use those recipes to design an intentional, connected, and enhanced culture of joy over the course of the year.

I’m certain that you can think of dozens of other ways to identify and celebrate joy in our school community and in your home.  My suggestion is that simply by doing so you will promote and perpetuate a joyful culture of positive progress.  People will feel better, learn better, and be better, which is good for kids…and as we all know, that’s the intended outcome of everything we do!

Dream Big.  Work Hard.  Be Well.