The experience of joy can motivate and energize our courageous action. Some people think of joy as an emotion or feeling, while others think of joy as something closer to a sustaining force or a way of making meaning. However you understand it, joy cannot be forced, but it can be cultivated, noticed, and savored. 

To dedicate more space in your life to joy, implement practices that are meaningful to you and that help you develop mindful attentiveness to the present moment. Consider the following ideas:

Daily Routines

Identify daily practices that bring you joy. You could:

• Light a candle and meditate
• Take a morning or evening walk
• Call a friend while running errands
• Listen to a favorite album or podcast while you cook
• Read before bed

Regular Rituals

Create and practice rituals—­meaningful habits that bring you joy, repeated at regular intervals. Examples include:

• Play a weekly game of pick up basketball 
• Join a weekly trivia team
• Attend a regular religious service
• Go to a concert once a month
• Host a monthly or quarterly dinner party

Gratitude

Center gratitude. To do this:

• Keep a gratitude journal
• Start a text thread with friends or family where everyone texts something from their day that they are thankful for
• Go around the dinner table each night and share something you’re thankful for 

Embodiment

Find ways to be present to your body every day. You might:

• Find something every day that makes you laugh
• Move your body in ways that feel good to you (dance, run, stretch) 
• Savor something you eat or drink
• Listen to your body’s cues for when you need to cry, sleep, move, eat, or drink

Community

Build communal spaces and practices. Pick something from the following list of ideas to try:

• Host a movie night
• Attend an open mic
• Volunteer for a local organization or campaign you support
• Take a class

Mindfulness

Develop your capacity to direct your attention to what is most meaningful to you. To do so:

• Practice focusing on your breath a few times a day
• Medidate
• Notice your surroundings
• Name what you can see, smell, hear, touch, and taste 

One of the most empowering things you can do—individually or with your community—is to share your experiences and your dreams for the future and to listen to those of other people. Whether you share through storytelling, another artform, or a simple conversation, you can inspire your community to share their perspectives so we can reimagine a democracy that works for all of us.  

Consider ways to share your experiences and be inspired by the experiences of others:

• Write and submit a letter to the editor or op-ed. 
• Explore StoryCorps’s archive of more than 700,000 stories or participate in StoryCorps by sharing your own story. 
• Explore This I Believe essays, short essays by people from all over the country and the world about the core values that shape their daily lives, or write one of your own and share it with your friends, family, community, or social media followers. 
• Learn about and practice a community or public narrative framework, like Marshall Ganz’s Story of Self, Us, and Now. 
• Support the work of reimagining a democracy that works for everyone by exploring Democracy Forward’s initiative Democracy Works 250. 
• Share your stories and ideas with Democracy Forward by posting on social media and tagging @DemocracyForward.