Letters from a Therapist - Reflection Two

What I’ve Learned About Joy in Small Moments

As a therapist, I sit with people in their pain, grief, trauma, uncertainty, burnout, heartbreak, but I’ve also witnessed something just as profound, and maybe even more sacred: Joy.

Not the loud, picture-perfect kind but the quiet, surprising, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of joy that often emerges… right in the middle of the mess.

The Kind of Joy That Catches You Off Guard

I’ve learned that joy isn’t always big or obvious.

It doesn’t always look like laughter or dancing or sunshine pouring through the window.

Sometimes joy is:

• A deep exhale after holding it together for too long.

• A warm cup of tea made for yourself with love.

• A song you forgot you loved playing on the radio.

• The moment a client says, “I don’t feel as heavy today.”

It’s easy to miss those moments when we’re waiting for something grand, waiting to be healed, or better, or finished, but healing isn’t a destination. And joy? Joy is already threaded through the journey.

What My Clients Have Taught Me

The clients I work with have taught me this truth again and again:

Even in deep pain, the human heart still reaches for light.

Even in trauma, people notice the way the sun hits the trees.

Even in burnout, someone will still laugh at a memory and say, “I forgot I could laugh like that.”

I’ve seen people in the middle of their darkest moments find room for joy, not because the pain was gone, but because they remembered that both can coexist.

Grief and gratitude.

Worry and wonder.

Tenderness and tenacity.

There is space for all of it.

A Gentle Invitation

If you’re in a hard season right now, you don’t have to force joy.

But if it shows up, even for a second, let yourself notice it.

Let yourself have it.

Let yourself smile at the sky.

Let yourself enjoy the sound of your child’s laugh.

Let yourself rest without guilt.

Let yourself feel the softness of a moment, without needing to explain why.

You are allowed to feel joy, even in the middle of the hard stuff.

Especially in the middle of the hard stuff.

A Closing Thought

Joy isn’t a reward for doing healing “right.”

It’s part of the healing.

Small moments matter.

They teach us we are still here.

Still human.

Still capable of feeling something good, even when things are uncertain.

And that, to me, is one of the most beautiful signs of life.

Guiding you with clarity, healing you with heart.

Paula | Your Heart Therapist