Finding Joy in Everyday Life: How Simple Moments Create Lasting Happiness

For some, joy can be found in a cup of matcha at a local cafe that resonates. The joy of the barista preparing your beverage, and the joy of taking in more antioxidants. The joy of putting your mobile phone away, and in having your matcha made from heaven waited on you hand and foot. Maybe not that excessively, although I should have left the latter at full table service. If you happen to be enjoying that cup of matcha green tea alone (or sipping on another concoction that brings you joy); the joy of solitude can be appreciated and embraced. If not the joy of connection.

Scepticism is healthy, and right now it is healthy to question the simplicity of joy in the little things, and importantly so, in everyday living. Us humans have been good at complicating what is simple, as our brains like to thrive on challenges, and having more and more challenges (a more joyful way of calling a problem a problem) to share with others for mere validation of your pain and suffering.

You would be forgiven for thinking that circumstances are a bit cray cray right now for a myriad of reasons. Not to sugarcoat the wildness of what is 2026 (as at the time of writing) - however it is fair to share that people are increasingly fatigued by constant productivity messaging, rising living costs all round, digital overwhelm and uncertainty, combined with the desire to achieve and be creative where a little patience goes a long, long way. Scrolling through headlines (doomscrolling), checking your phone first thing while waking up (because it is your alarm clock too right?), work emails and social media updates are natural causes for a bit of exhaustion before the day has even begun. Where is the joy in all of that? It's clearly nonexistent.

When caught up in the maze of technology, productivity, burnout, exhaustion and uncertainty - perhaps with illness or a serious injury; it is human nature to bypass appreciation of the simple things that are great, combined with gratitude and appreciation for what we already have for our enjoyment and/or quality of this short life.

Furthermore, experiencing joy and joy in the simplest of things gets squandered from society's expectations and conditioning that joy can only be discovered and celebrated once you've scored a promotion, paid off debt, purchased a home, lost weight, fell in love, and went on a dream holiday to name. This is far from the truth. Joy can be embraced and appreciated in the simplest of tasks, and can be formed in the absence of manifestation. Knowing that is comforting, and is great for people's mental health, psyche, and overall wellbeing.

For example, yours truly was fortunate to experience an outdoor wellness event (in winter of all seasons) almost two weeks ago (as at the time of writing); and this global wellness day event really got me thinking about joy. The manifestation of attending this outdoor wellness event was no easy feat. It was only days prior that I found out that my ankle fracture recovery (months of rehabilitation) made me iron deficient, on a knife's edge of being anaemic again (despite taking iron supplementation daily and eating well) - as well as being insulin resistant. At this event, prior to the tai chi session along Sydney Harbour in the beautiful botanical gardens; receiving a life changing phone call from a close family member informing me that another relative is now in palliative care (sadly she passed away yesterday, as at the time of writing) who is an eight hour drive away from where I live is far from joyful; especially having died of a disease that yours truly survived a year ago. Survivors guilt also sucks joy right of out of your psyche, just like a vacuum cleaner.

Life is unfair, absolutely. However these setbacks and disruptions from the joy of being given a complimentary tai chi session did not waver the joy of this day. The joy of sunshine and summer like weather for this outdoor occasion, despite the early stages of winter was alive and well, as well as the joy of having views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House right in front of my eyes, in addition to the joy of earthing my bare feet on the grass, and later enjoying a complimentary sound bath experience with trees as a pure birds eye view. The joy of connecting with likeminded people was also incredible.

Life is also filled with distractions. Sure enough, a helicopter flew overhead during the meditation session that followed the tai chi and sound bath experience from this event. Instead of seeing that helicopter as a distraction; it was more empowering to focus on the joy that the people in the helicopter are experiencing - the ride itself, as well as enjoying a birds eye view over Sydney Harbour. Focusing on your joy in the simple things is great, however focusing on the simple joys that others around you are experiencing brings those feel good vibes that volunteering work brings back to you. And that feel good energy does not cost you a dime. Only a little mind power.

You do not need to achieve a major milestone in life in order to experience pure joy. Those major milestones come with their own headaches sooner rather than later. How often do you see pleasure turn into pain with the added pressure and responsibilities that a work promotion brings, as well as a relationship that fizzles out over time. What was your dream home at the onset quickly turns into a maintenance, tenant or any other form of nightmare quicker than you realise.

A great way to plant some positive seeds into your psyche in these cray cray times is to focus on joy. And again, it does not cost you a cent. If you love a barista made coffee (for example), and perhaps money is a bit tight to be able to afford a sit down cup of joe right now; when passing by a cafe - focus on the joy of the people at that particular cafe sipping their cappuccinos. Either you will feel good, or something really good will happen to you, or quickly thereafter the divine will bend your reality and put you in a place where you can join those content coffee sippers at a cafe of your choice, if you really want to.

The joy in the simplest of things that we can control, and that we can afford often if not always gets overlooked. The joy of fresh, crisp and clean bed sheets. Yum. Receiving a message from a friend. A friend unexpectedly shouts you coffee when you have a coffee catch up with them. Not only is the latter is a form of abundance, but also a form of joy. Cooking and preparing a healthy dinner. Gardening. Reading a book. Listening to an empowering podcast. Conversations with neighbours. Laughing with others. The enthusiastic greeting that a dog gives you when you arrive at the owners house. Taking a dog for a walk. Compliments - giving and receiving. Birdsong. Watching a sunrise.

I was only scratching the surface on all of the above, where joy can easily be found in simplicity, and on a daily basis, even during tough, crazy and uncertain times. People are shifting their priorities from heavy manifestation and the constant push for more, more, more to simpler and slower living, in embracing mindfulness and mindful consumption. Sure, capitalism does not like any of this, however this is the way we are heading. Furthermore, people are also shifting towards more community connection, local experiences, and nature based activities. Just more intentional and conscious living across the board, all of which are awesome breeding grounds for constant joy in the everyday and simple.

Instead of focusing on high levels of output, success, drive, ambition and achievement; people are beginning to shift towards wanting to feel good as much as possible. Noticing just one good thing about life is enough for the pendulum to swing in the direction of joy and feeling good.

Have some kind of personal ritual towards bringing more joy into your life in the simplicity that surrounds us abundantly is also a great idea. This could encompass a weekly phone call with a loved one, and/or enjoying a walk every evening. Writing in a gratitude journal and listing only a few things that you are grateful for, for what is already working in your life can also be helpful in attracting more joy into the human psyche. You do not need to write an essay in this journal.

Connection does not come easily to everyone, and people are flat out busy. We all know why. It feels a little better to be courageous in texting a friend or acquaintance who could possibly become a friend through your courage in taking the initiative to reach out first. Phone calls come as a shock, yet people appreciate phone calls, for the more in depth conversations that can be had, as opposed to a text; and the support given and received feels empowering, and could even border on being somewhat special. If an invitation to catch up or attend an event lands in your lap, accept it if you are getting the intuitive nudges to do so. That too brings more joy in. Even when a friend or work colleague tells you that they are not ok. The latter means they trust you, and that is empowering.

In concluding, it is clearly evident that real joy rarely arrives with fireworks and champagne, with the flutes to accompany such. Joy often and frequently appears quietly in shared laughter, familiar routines (which can be called daily rituals), a moment of peace, and even in the comfort in knowing that you are here; you are doing ok, and when you are no longer harder on yourself. Surprisingly, you are doing better than anticipated.

Of course, major milestones in life do happen, and they definitely deserve to be celebrated. The quality of our lives and the resilience that shapes it predominantly happens in those daily micro moments. It is not every day or every month that we get hitched or end up in hospital; those good and not so good events are extremes. Joy, gratitude and pureness (including abundance) happens in those daily micro (albeit simple) moments stacked up and accumulated over time. That outdoor sound bath, the daily walks in nature, and those matcha lattes sipped either in solitude and/or connection to name are small events and circumstances, like the size of a dot in comparison to a house purchase for example. However, stacked together and occurring in the joys of daily living creates a life rich in good feelings, meaning, connection and happiness that slowly if ever fades away.

Simply put, joy is not something we find at the finish line; it is a continuous journey while alive. A positive, feel good emotion that has simple to profound mental health benefits that is found along the way. That is found in every day living. That is also found while recovering from burn out, illness or injury. You can be diagnosed with an incurable illness and still find pockets of joy somewhere in daily living that is still called life.

This song is evidence enough; a grounding song that focuses on the treasures of everyday joy in the simplest of things, events, and circumstances. The Simple Things by Joe Cocker: