I just want to stay in bed. It’s Saturday morning and 20 degrees outside. On top of the fact that it’s the weekend, I was out with the neighbors last night — which means I’m extra tired and my body is a little upset about what I consumed during the party. Still, I rolled out from under the covers, put on my workout gear, and forced myself into the yoga studio.
The class started soft and easy — as, I suppose, a yoga class should start. My mind was nowhere, which is probably where the practice of yoga wants it to be. At one point, though, I looked outside and realized two things. The sun was rising, and I was seeing it upside down (thanks to the funny stretching position I was in).
I remember as a kid, I would stop to look at things upside-down. Whatever that thing was — a scene, a room, an object — it always felt new when I saw it from that opposite angle. Now, here I am, in a yoga pose that I’m not sure is the correct form, with my eyes forced to look through the frosty windows and seeing an upside-down sunrise.
It made me smile.
Sunrises are already beautiful. Upside-down, it had another level of beauty. It jolted me, but in a calming way. In the few seconds I stared off, I felt the calling to pause and appreciate. That upside-down sunrise message was more than to awe in the wonder of looking at something in a different way. It was a calling to rest my thoughts and attitude and be thankful, have gratitude, and find contentment.
Sheesh! All of that out of one 30-second wonky yoga pose? Yep. Namaste.
You see, I want to start a joy movement, and that moment when my view was transformed, I was reminded that joy is already in us. We can be focused on so many things that it feels like joy and peace are muffled or even vacant. It seems like “joy” is a concept, a word that we throw around—especially during the holidays—or place in a meme for social media.
That inverted sunrise said to me, what if:
- instead of celebrating busyness, we celebrate pauses.
- instead of solitude and separation, we celebrate community and friendship.
- instead of doing what we’ve always done or looking at situations in only one way (our way), we celebrate learning and understanding.
- instead of feeling guilty when we take time for ourselves, we celebrate self-care.
- instead of focusing on what we don’t have, we celebrate what we DO have.
Let me take you further down this path of discussing reflection – of seeing life in a joy-filled way – and how it continued to hit me square between the eyes…
I had that upside-down moment in the yoga studio that reminded me not to get sucked into life monotony. Shortly after that day, I received a message from my sister about the Vive Unlimited logo. I had the logo etched onto a gratitude rock, and I sent it to her. She sent me a message with the picture of the rock, but upside-down. She thought it was cool that she saw a stoic bird in the upside-down logo. (Right-side up, the logo is simply a set of wings.)
There’s an interesting link to this different view. I never looked at the Vive Unlimited logo upside-down. Why would I? When I turned it to see what my sister saw, I saw a Phoenix. I laughed because I never thought about that mythical creature until a series of conversations occurred—prior to my sister’s discovery:
- My cousin said she thought the original Vive wings logo resembled the Phoenix. (This is when I began learning about the Phoenix folklore.)
- I shared that chat with my husband, who said, “Of course! I’ve always thought the logo represented the story of the Phoenix rising from the ashes and thriving with a renewed spirit.” He thought that was the story of my journey and that I intentionally incorporated that creature into the Vive logo.
- And then, through an emotional healing exercise with my chiropractor, the image of a Phoenix came to her as we discussed the current status of my head and heart (without her knowing about the cousin/husband conversations).
The Phoenix was never the inspiration for the Vive logo. Yet, there it was.
Maybe that’s all coincidence. (Maybe I should spend less time with my head upside-down?) The point is that joy is within us and all around us. Pause. Look at life in a different and more appreciative way. See the growth. Catch the beauty in the daily happenings that may be taken for granted.
Simply taking a different view can bring beautiful transformation to your mindset and toward living your best joy-filled life.
If you are looking for a gift, the Vive gratitude rock is a beautiful way to show thankfulness for the friendship of another person. It’s also a perfect gift to give to someone who you know has greatness within them and just needs to be reminded.