Welcome!
This is not a meditation for sugarcoating life.
Rather this meditation is for those who refuse to let the world's weight steal their light.
This is about choosing joy.
Not because everything is easy but because your soul is fierce enough to rebel against despair.
Now fair warning,
This meditation may be a little spicier than you may be used to but fundamentally it's pointing to your ability to master your inner state irrespective of the conditions of the world around you.
This is not to encourage delusion but rather to begin to live with your inner world flowing into the outer one rather than your inner world seemingly being dictated by external conditions.
Let's begin.
Find a position that feels grounded and strong making sure to keep your back reasonably straight.
Let the surface beneath you hold you fully like a foundation for your defiance.
If it feels right close your eyes,
Otherwise just let your gaze soften.
This is your space,
Your moment.
Claim it as such.
Bring your attention to your breath.
Notice its rhythm,
Steady and unyielding like a pulse of life within you.
Inhale deeply filling your chest with strength.
Exhale releasing any tension,
Any heaviness that doesn't belong to you.
Feel your body settle,
Your shoulders dropping,
Your jaw softening and your hands resting open.
With each breath root yourself here,
Present and powerful.
Now turn inward.
This isn't about chasing fleeting happiness or pretending pain doesn't exist.
This is about summoning joy as an act of courage.
Think of a moment in your life when joy rose up in you,
Not from ease but through struggle.
A time where you laughed even as things fell apart,
When hope flickered in the dark,
When warmth broke through the cold.
Maybe it was a smile shared in grief,
A dance in the rain,
A quiet moment of gratitude when the world felt heavy.
See that moment clearly,
Feel its fire in your chest.
That joy wasn't fragile,
It was unbreakable.
Let it fill you now.
Picture yourself standing tall,
Wearing your joy like armor.
It's not a shallow smile or a forced cheer,
It's a fierce softness,
A radiance that dares to shine.
Imagine your heart blazing like the Sun,
Warm and unapologetic.
Even as shadows swirl around you.
You are a mountain,
Steady and unmoved,
Yet alive with light.
The world may frown,
May demand your suffering,
But you choose differently.
You choose joy.
Feel its strength in your buttons,
Its heat in your breath.
Let these words sink into you,
Repeating them silently or aloud if you wish.
I choose joy,
Not because it's easy,
But because it's mine.
My cheerfulness is sacred.
I don't owe my suffering to anyone.
Feel these truths settle into your body,
Like embers glowing in your core.
They are yours to carry,
Yours to protect.
Now notice your body again.
Where do you feel this joy?
Maybe it's a warmth in your chest,
A lightness in your shoulders,
Perhaps a softness around the mouth.
If tension lingers,
Perhaps in your fists,
Your brow or your heart,
Breathe into it.
Let it soften,
Not because you're weak,
But precisely because you're strong enough to choose ease over struggle.
Inhale,
Fanning the flame of your joy and exhale,
Letting go of that which dims it.
Rest here in this quiet power.
Your joy is a soulful rebellion,
A refusal to let darkness have the last word.
It's not naive,
It's radical.
It's the freedom to choose your attitude no matter what's been taken from you.
It's the spark that keeps the world from going dark.
In this moment,
Hold your joy with dignity,
Like a flame in the wind.
Protect it,
It's yours.
When you're ready,
Bring your awareness back to the space around you.
Place a hand on your heart if you'd like to do so and whisper to yourself,
I claim joy as my nature and I claim joy as my birthright.
Feel the warmth beneath your palm.
It's a reminder you can return to joy any time.
Notice the air in your skin,
The sounds around you,
The weight of your body grounded here.
Take a deep breath and as you exhale,
Carry this joy with you.
Slowly open your eyes if they're closed and look around with the quiet strength of someone who's chosen to embody joy,
Come what may.
You don't have to justify your joy.
Let others frown,
You've claimed your light.
The world is all the brighter for it.
So now go forth and be relentlessly cheerful and have a lovely day.
