Finding Joy in 66 Seconds Hello everyone,
Welcome to the first Remedies for the Soul series.
I am Ana Barreto and I am your host.
Today our first talk is about joy,
A subject we forget more often than we should.
When we talk about joy,
I am not talking about the big vacation joy or the milestone joy,
But something else,
The joy that is available to us in 66 seconds or less.
Why 66 seconds?
Because every woman I've met is busy,
Tired,
Stretched thin,
And believes joy requires a weekend away,
A healed past,
A new career,
Or a finished to-do list.
I was one of those women for many years,
Until I connected the dots,
And today I hope it will connect for you too.
I want to introduce the kind of joy that takes one intentional minute and requires zero life changes,
Just presence.
Women have it carry too much for far too long,
And yet we forget that our nervous system recalibrates every time we pause to feel pleasure,
Beauty,
Or gratitude.
We don't need more free time,
We need micro-moments of joy woven into our daily life.
And today,
I will show you exactly how to find not one,
Not two,
Not three,
But seven of them.
So,
Silence your phone,
Unclench your jaw,
Soften your shoulders,
Actually let them down,
And allow this next few minutes to be about you.
Get a pen and paper,
And take notes so you remember.
If you need to pause,
Do it now before we begin.
What we write down builds a bridge in our brains,
And joy is something always to remember.
So,
Why joy matters?
Joy is not entertainment,
Distraction,
Or adrenaline.
Joy is regulation.
Did you hear me?
Joy is regulation.
Joy is healing.
Joy tells our body,
You are safe,
You are loved,
And you belong here.
The brain doesn't need 20 minutes.
It only needs 66 seconds to shift from survival into peace.
And you,
My friend,
Deserve lots of peace.
So,
Let's begin.
The number one dot I want you to connect is that joy you find in the shower.
Yes,
You heard me right,
Joy in the shower.
Tomorrow morning,
When you step into a warm shower,
Don't rush.
Just don't rush.
Close your eyes and feel the water on your skin.
Get present.
Instead of mentally going through your schedule,
Let each drop remind you of a time before stress.
When you were protected,
Held,
Surrounded by warmth.
We often forget that the womb was our first home.
Warm,
Dark,
Safe,
Pulsing,
Supported.
So when that warm water falls on your body,
Your nervous system remembers.
For 66 seconds,
Let the shower become your sanctuary.
Feel free to whisper a thought like,
In this moment,
I am safe.
In this moment,
I receive.
No multitasking.
No hair conditioner decisions.
Just joy from the warm water falling in your body.
Number two.
The second place to find joy is in your first sip of coffee or tea.
Too many mornings,
We mechanically inhale our caffeine while driving,
Answering emails,
Or rushing through the commute.
And we miss the magic.
Some of you prefer a glass of soda,
And that's okay.
And if this is you,
I'll ask you to grab a glass of lukewarm water.
Yes,
You heard me.
You can drink a glass of soda after the 66 seconds with your warm water.
Ancient wisdom reminds us that the first drink of the day should be warm.
So we don't shock our body and our digestive system.
So tomorrow morning,
Don't drink your tea or coffee immediately.
Just hold it first.
Just hold it for 66 seconds.
Wrap your hands around the cup.
Let the warmth touch your palms.
Smell the aroma.
Breathe it in.
Feel gratitude for being alive and awake in this moment with this beautiful,
Delicious cup of coffee or tea or lukewarm water.
We spend years chasing big happiness,
While a cup of coffee or tea can transform your mood in about a minute.
Enjoy that tea or coffee before the rush of the day,
Before the overwhelm.
Give yourself those 66 seconds.
The world can't wait that long,
Right?
The third place we can find joy easily is out in nature.
At the beach,
At the mountain,
In a botanical garden,
Or on a quiet street where trees canopy creating a sanctuary.
You know that place,
Right?
That one.
So number three is to find a place that calls you.
And when you arrive at the beautiful scene,
Don't reach for your phone.
That picture can wait.
Take 66 seconds to look.
Really look.
The movement of water,
The softness of the clouds,
The color of the leaves,
The way the sunlight hits the ground.
Let your senses take it all in before you turn into a social media post or memory for others.
Beauty is not here to be captured.
It's here to be lived,
To be received.
If you haven't been to that special place recently,
Schedule a visit today.
Just put on your calendar.
Do not wait for tomorrow.
I know that once you put it on your agenda,
It is very likely to happen.
Number four comes with a little story.
I recently visited Longwood Gardens outside Philadelphia.
After walking through the gardens,
I entered the gift shop,
And I noticed the most beautiful smell in the air.
I asked the staff what fragrance it was,
And they led me to two candles.
I smelled the first one.
Definitely not.
Then the second one.
Balsam Cedar.
The scent immediately brought a smile to my face.
Today,
As I'm writing this thought from my dining room,
I lit the same candle to give myself another 66 seconds of joy.
Take it in.
Aroma is medicine.
It's medicine.
It reaches parts of us that words cannot reach.
I can't recall exactly when I first encountered,
But it doesn't matter.
Whether it's a candle,
A rose,
Eucalyptus in your shower,
Or fresh baked bread,
Let it hold for you 66 seconds of joy.
Number five.
Another place where joy lives widely is your bed.
Maybe not your bed quite yet,
But most beds.
After a long day,
Clean sheets on a freshly made bed feel like a reward from heaven.
Don't just collapse.
Receive.
Lie down slowly.
Let the body melt into the mattress.
Feel the blankets on your skin.
Breathe in the comfort.
Your bedroom is more than a place to sleep.
It's an emotional charger.
And if your room is clean,
Warm,
And beautiful,
That joy becomes magnified.
66 seconds of intentional rest is sometimes more healing than an hour of distraction.
And if your bed doesn't feel like a sanctuary yet,
Hint hint,
This is the time for you to do it.
And one more thing.
Before reaching for your phone,
Before turning on the TV that could be somewhere in another room,
Pause.
Let your body remember.
I deserve the rest.
I deserve the peace.
And feel it for 66 seconds.
Number six.
You can find joy in a song.
Every person has music that brings them back to a moment of joy.
Maybe it was a dance,
A kiss,
A road trip,
A celebration,
Or a time when they felt free and widely alive.
Music is memory.
It bypasses language and goes straight into emotions.
Find that song.
Play it.
Close your eyes.
Listen with your heart.
Not for noise,
Not for nostalgia,
But for joy.
Have a playlist of music that brings you joy.
This one may take a little longer than 66 seconds,
But that's perfectly fine.
Let the melody become your medicine for joy.
And finally,
Number seven.
Find joy in your favorite meal.
Did you know that joy lives in food?
Not only in ice cream and cookies.
I don't know about you,
But some days I crave Big Mac.
There,
I said it.
And on other days,
I crave my mother's bread pudding.
Something I can almost recreate when I bake it,
But not quite the same.
There is a restaurant nearby that gets it pretty close.
I have the original recipe written in my father's handwriting because my mother cooked by memory.
And I know her secret.
Fresh lemon zest.
When I make it,
It isn't just food.
It's a memory,
Love,
And joy on the plate.
Joy on the plate.
I eat most of it guilty free and only take 66 seconds to savor the first bite.
So I ask you,
What food gives you joy?
Go find it.
Make it.
Celebrate it.
Even if you eat only three bites,
Let those three bites bring you joy.
Food is just not nourishment.
It's pleasure.
It's heritage.
It's belonging and love.
So here is the deeper wisdom about joy.
Joy is not something you earn after you finish your to-do list.
Joy is something you allowed while life is still imperfect.
While you're still growing.
While things are still uncertain or messy.
You don't need a vacation,
A promotion,
A soulmate,
Or a healed past to feel joy.
You need 66 seconds of intentional presence.
Every joyful moment you give yourself becomes a nervous system reset,
A mood elevator,
And a reminder that you are safe,
Alive,
And supported.
The world doesn't change when you change.
And when your nervous system is regulated,
Your creativity awakens,
Your communication improves,
Your relationships soften,
Your health improves,
And your dreams feel more possible.
Joy is not a luxury.
Joy is a strategy,
Right?
Strategy.
Joy is also mental health.
Joy is a spiritual alignment.
Joy is your ticket back to yourself,
Your true self.
So today I invite you to practice joy on purpose.
Put reminders around the house.
You can set alerts on your phone.
Shower joy,
Tea joy,
Sunset joy,
Candle joy,
Bed joy,
Music joy,
Food joy.
Because one joyful minute is more healing than one hour of complaining,
Worrying,
Or rushing.
Joy can be a form of self-parenting.
And if you read my book,
The Nine Powers of Women,
You know that eventually you become your own mother.
Wouldn't you like to have a joyful mother?
And another message you want your inner child to remember is that you matter.
Your pleasure matters.
Life is just not responsibility.
Life is sensation,
Beauty,
Rest,
And wonder.
And from this place,
Life looks different.
It feels different.
We feel different.
We become different.
So take these seven practices with you.
Start today.
Start small.
Start with just 66 seconds.
Let joy be your medicine,
Your anchor,
And your reminder that you are here to feel,
Not just to perform.
Thank you for being present with me today.
And if this thought brought you value,
Share with someone you love,
Someone who needs 66 seconds of peace more than anything else.
That's the way to joy.
This is Ana Barreto,
Signing off.
