“Like other powerful emotions, joy can be difficult for us, even terrifying, as researcher Brene Brown has discussed, because it requires vulnerability and courage. The moment we experience joy, we might wonder when we will lose it, or we might immediately anticipate that disappointment or disaster are sure to follow.
“We also do not share our joy boldly lest we be seen as overly excited or too expressive. To display joy fully requires being 'too demonstrative,' 'too passionate' — or so we might imagine. We may be anxious about being 'too much.'
“Joy, like other emotions, longs to be shared though. Expressing joy, as with other challenging emotions, requires support.
“Not only do we need permission to be honest about emotions like sadness, anger, and fear, we need permission to be joy-filled. And we need this permission from other people and ourselves. We can give one another and ourselves permission to experience joy in many ways.
“One is to create spaces of joy.
“Like preparing for joy (ladders against fences), we can organize spaces that are meant to invite and cultivate joy — spaces that suggest joy is both anticipated and welcomed.”
