There are moments of sunshine all around you. This newsletter hopes to serve as an inspiration to find joy in your life each day.

In this week's Sunshine in Your Inbox, we'll reflect on some key ways to shake things up and get in touch with our joy.

When Your Go-to Source of Comfort Fails

The other day I went to the coast, needing a little comfort, inspiration, and connection. The ocean is my church. But this week, going to church didn't work as it had in the past.

The next day, I thought about watching one of my comfort TV shows. But that felt like it wouldn't do the trick either. I needed to shake it up and step out of my comfort zone to find comfort and a little mindset shift.

So I decided to write. It has been since high school when I last wrote any piece of fiction. I remember enjoying it, but haven't done any kind of creative writing since school. Because with many creative pursuits, if I'm not excellent at it, I tend to abandon the craft.

Armed with a beta version of Plot Weaver, a storytelling game that a friend of mine is working on, I sat outside with my cat (securely on a leash), and began writing a story. I tried to come up with some kind of plot before starting, but that was quickly abandoned when I drew cards that guided me to tell a story with a charming character, in a lab setting, in a post-apocalyptic world, in the genre of crime story.

Somehow, what was meant to be 15 minutes on each of the 3 acts ended up being me writing for well over an hour. I got completely lost in it. My story had intrigue, love, poison, and a well-meaning but kooky scientist who discovered how to make people into superheroes. Kind of. You'd have to read the story.

This activity was novel (pun not intended) to me and immensely creative. I had to reach depths of my imagination that don't come out to play very often. I felt like I was processing some feelings, without trying very hard and I was so engrossed in the activity that my anxious mind had nowhere else to go but into this story.

I felt lighter and was excited and even felt proud of my story. It completely changed how I was feeling and was a very important reminder. Sometimes, we need to give our system a bit of a shock by doing something different, to feel better.

We love routine and the comforts that often carry us so far, but we have to add novelty to our lives. It gives our brains and nervous systems something else to do, especially when we're feeling a little stuck in a loop.

This was not meant to sound contrived, but serve as a reminder to shake things up when you're unable to connect with your regular comforts. And when you are unsure how, use your imagination to create worlds and stories that only your wonderful mind can do.

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And as always, I hope today you choose joy, share joy, and celebrate joy!

PS. Did you like this newsletter? Share it with someone who you think might enjoy a little ray of sunshine in their inbox too! 🥰

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