Priority of Joy

I’ve been having some wonderful conversations lately, and one in particular has stayed with me.

A friend and I were exchanging voice notes when she asked how my day was going. I told her it had taken an unexpected turn. First, a photography tour was cancelled, and then, out of the blue, I got a call asking me to join a pickleball game. Suddenly, my day looked completely different.

Instead of resisting the change, I decided to go with the flow. The work waiting for me would  be there later, but this invitation felt like an opening I didn’t want to miss. When I shared this with my friend, she said something that stopped me in my tracks: “Go and play, then come back and rearrange things by priority of joy.”

Priority of joy.

I let those words sink in. What a beautiful way to think about our days. It doesn’t mean ignoring the hard or less exciting tasks. It simply means allowing ourselves to be filled first, choosing joy as fuel, so that when we return to the harder things, we bring more energy and light with us.

This perspective has increased my excitement and enthusiasm for the upcoming Space To Be Retreat. Together, we’ll explore joy and discover ways to weave it more intentionally into our everyday lives. It’s about giving ourselves permission to make joy a priority, not an afterthought.

That idea has been sitting with me ever since. How would life feel if we intentionally organized our time by a priority of joy? What if joy wasn’t something we squeezed in, but something we led with?

I’d love to hear how you invite joy into your day. What would be at the top of your list if you rearranged things by a priority of joy?

Thank you for being here. I’m glad we’re connected.

With gratitude,

Aderonke

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