Over the next couple of months, every fortnight you’ll be hearing from an incredible soul within The Daisy Patch community in our Joy Embodiment Series. They’re sharing their own ‘Joy Stories’ – how they embody joy in their lives, what it has meant to them, and a few lessons along the way. I trust you enjoy connecting with them and their joy as much as I have. 

Enjoy! 

Danielle x 

It all started with a feeling of not being enough.  

Not belonging, not having what it takes, being off, not fitting in. Lacking meaning, purpose, vision and so many other expressions of misalignment and disconnection from my own truth. 

 That was only the visible part of the iceberg. At that stage I was far from suspecting that being the first generation after my parents to be born—after the decolonization of my home country, Algeria—had something to do with my misalignment. It was the past, history, nothing to do with ‘me’ as such. 

This history caught up with me when I moved to France to live. First, I had to become aware of the necessity to heal the trauma, both personal and collective. And then, I had to create a healing path for that trauma. One that has felt very similar to the path to success.  

It’s nothing but linear.  

Uncovering those multiple layers of trauma, and bringing them to the surface of awareness, and designing that healing journey for such wounds, has been a real ground for true transformation.  

And where I have practiced finding my way back—from anger to joy.  

In the last 15 years of self-study and self-work, I came up with a personal list of ingredients for Joy.  

Profound joy for me had to spring from the feelings of wholeness, integrity, freedom and most importantly self-agency. Yes, most of these words are very trendy in the self-growth terminology today and I take that for proof that this list is more universal than I thought at first.  

Journeying towards those basic human feelings, feeling them and eventually claiming them as our own is where true empowerment and liberation lie.  
 
Joy is a birthright feeling, it is within us but we have been indoctrinated to believe it is outside of us. So we strive to find it. We vibrate on the vibration of lack (of joy). If we just switched inward, with silence, breath and peace – we would find it there. 

That’s what I’ve found to be true. 

I am just like you, just like any human being, joy for me is in the simple things.  

The smell of the Mediterranean, pines, honeysuckle, the sea.  

The laughter of my children.  

The satisfaction to help another human being and contribute.  

Waking up to a blue sky and beautiful sunshine.  
 

Joy is when we allow our breath to flow and our mind to quiet. Getting there required that I retrieve my human birthright to feel and know my wholeness.  

I invite you to follow the path of your own liberation, if you feel that these ingredients don’t fill the hole you feel in times of sadness and despair, explore and define your own ingredients for joy. Design your own path to healing. Start a list of your simple joys and allow it to become a notebook. 
 
Find out more & connect with Amira: 

Mother, high school English teacher, writer, singer and dreamer – Amira Ruby has a deep creative centre. Her simple joys include making chocolate mousse with her children and being in awe of the moon every month. She’s currently working on a few dream projects to bring more of her creative side out into the world and support people to feel that same emotional connection that guided her on her music journey. She shares a beautiful newsletter, which you can subscribe to at https://www.amiraruby.com/intentions to connect further.