Small moments of joy for wellbeing - Emma Coonan's monthly column

As the sun shone down on the country recently, you would have been hard pressed to find anyone who wasn’t out and about, gardening, walking, enjoying BBQs, coffees, and cakes with friends and family; and for the first time we weren’t among them.

The arrival of the recent Irish summer coincided with the arrival of our newborn, and despite the sun splitting the stones outside the windows, our world has been warmer and brighter inside the house than out.

Enjoying the moment during a rare spell of sunny weather in Ireland for me would usually mean getting out and about as much as possible, going for lots of walks, and making the most of the sunshine. When we did eventually get out for a walk (after much courage was worked up!), it occurred to me that the small moments of joy can be just as, if not sometimes more, powerful than the seemingly bigger moments.

Finding the (small) moments of joy

As I enjoyed a long awaited 99 walking along the harbour on this milestone walk last weekend, I found myself reflecting on the well recited wellbeing mantra of ‘enjoy the moment’. The thought occurred to me that the moment can often change as life evolves; big moments can become small, small moments can grow, and moments to be treasured and enjoyed evolve as we grow.

In times past, if I found I was not able to enjoy the sunshine and good weather for whatever reason, I may have (as I am sure we all have) found myself under pressure to ‘enjoy the moment,’ sometimes even wishing it was raining so that I wouldn’t feel so bad about not making the most of the sunshine.

Instead I found myself reflecting that it wasn’t those big moments of joy, like our unexpected heatwave, but actually the small moments of joy that are all the sweeter. For us this month that meant a rare moment of recognition from bright eyes, a squeeze of soft fingers, the flicker of a faint first smile (or maybe wind!) that filled our moments with small joys.

Tweaking our wellbeing mantras

For many of us, mantras such as ‘enjoy the moment’ form part of our wellbeing routines. These phrases can bring us comfort and help us to take pause when times get tough or change knocks on our door.

As important as these familiar mantras can feel to us, it is equally important to stay open to the idea of tweaks and adjustments that may be needed, to coincide with our ever evolving world. These tweaks can be vital for our wellbeing, as the alternative may be that we feel we cannot access wellbeing at all if our mantra no longer feels as relatable as it once was.

For me, this tweak meant embracing the joy in both the big and small moments, like enjoying our walk in the sun with pram in tow, something which had seemed like an insurmountable mountain to be climbed one week earlier and was now a reality. It was another moment to be relished as much as, but in a different way to, those small moments of private personal joy.

Embracing change

Introducing these small tweaks and adjustments to our wellbeing routines may sound simple, but can be challenging. We often take comfort in the familiar, especially during times of change, and so the prospect of tweaking long relied upon practices and mantras can seem very daunting.

Making these small changes often means we need to embrace change and take a leap of faith with these tweaks and adjustments. This leap can feel scary and takes a little courage, but without it, we may miss out on rare joyous experiences, both small and big.

If you haven’t done so yet, consider what tweaks you might like to make this week to a familiar mantra or routine, so that you can enjoy the moment, even if the moment is a little different to what you have experienced before. There may be buried treasure underneath.

A final thought...

Much like the rare Irish summer sun, small moments of joy can come and go while we are busy trying to enjoy the moment.
Making small tweaks to our wellbeing routines and mantras can help us to find both the joy and the courage needed to step into the sunshine.

Emma Coonan (pictured above) is an Accredited Psychotherapist with IAHIP and ICP, Lectures in Psychotherapy, and is a qualified Adult Education Trainer. After leaving Coláiste Phobal Roscrea, Emma studied English and Media in Maynooth University, before combining her Psychotherapy training with experience in the corporate world. Emma focuses on applying Psychotherapy practices for everyday living, through developing resilience, stress response, and mindfulness practice.