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  "description": "What if it was just bubbling under the surface, all the time? 💗",
  "path": "/give-in-to-joy/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-06T06:00:03.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gilespcroft.com",
  "tags": [
    "Mary Oliver",
    "Felicity",
    "Listening for joyA speech from a galaxy far, far away hit very close to home. 🥂The Daily RemindersGiles P Croft"
  ],
  "textContent": "I am by no means a Mary Oliver aficionado. The Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet had a vast canon and none of it graces my shelves. (A crime which I aim to remedy; I think I’ll start with Felicity and work my way backwards, unless you have another recommendation for me?)\n\nOne of you put me on to her poetry a while back, and I have since kept an eye out on social media, via one of many fan accounts. There’s something about the simplicity—the obviousness—of her writing that really appeals.\n\nThis one in particular hit home, for obvious reasons:\n\n> **DON'T HESITATE**\n\n>  _If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don't hesitate. Give in to it.\n>  There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be.\n> We are not wise, and not very often kind.\n> And much can never be redeemed._\n\n> _Still, life has some possibility left.\n>  Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world.\n> It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins.\n> Anyway, that's often the case.\n> Anyway, whatever it is, don't be afraid of its plenty.\n> Joy is not made to be a crumb._\n\n> ~ Mary Oliver (from the collection Felicity)\n\nHow gorgeous is that?\n\nI think we all too often believe that the ‘good’ stuff in life has to come with fanfare. The mind sets such conditions for happiness, and we strive so hard to keep it satisfied—ticking off its endless needs—we fail to notice the real joy that can be had at any moment.\n\nThe real joy that’s always there.\n\n* * *\n\nI caught myself worrying just the other day, and in the catching, a simple question seemed to arise:\n\n> _What would life be like**right now** , if my attention wasn’t on this insurmountable-seeming problem?_\n\n🤔\n\nUp to that point, it had looked like joy was locked away behind the resolution to that problem, and the key was missing.\n\nBut the simple question put paid to that illusion, instantly, as I examined not just what life _would_ be like, but what it _was_ like.\n\nTurns out, it was actually amazing! I fell right out of all my thinking and into a space of quiet, calm gratitude.\n\nNot gratitude for a list of _stuff_ , but the simple appreciation of _being_ … and the fact that the capacity for ‘appreciation’ and ‘being’ and ‘falling out of my thinking’ are even a thing!\n\nI noticed it _“in the instant that love begins.”_\n\nSo why not look for it today? It’s right there – under your nose!\n\nDo not be afraid of its plenty. It’s your birthright.\n\nIt’s what you’re here for.\n\n💝\n\nGiles\n\nSIGN UP FOR THE DAILY REMINDERS newsletter\n\nWant to start __every__ day with helpful, insightful content like this? The Daily Reminder is a quick, lighthearted email that arrives in your inbox every morning, to help keep you grounded in reality, so that you get to __‘Think less, and live more.’__\n\n __“They feel like a moment of stillness in a world of madness.” ~__ Neil, UK\n\n __“One of those small things with big impact. Honestly, just sign up!”__ ~ Paula, UK\n\nGET YOURS NOW\n\n### Related\n\nListening for joyA speech from a galaxy far, far away hit very close to home. 🥂The Daily RemindersGiles P Croft\n\nPoetry from a galaxy far, far away.",
  "title": "Give in to joy",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-06T06:00:04.723Z"
}