Finding your joy

See this man? He cut my keys this morning. I know, I know. Key cutting isn’t usually anything more than a mundane task after someone (aka me) has lost a set of keys. In my case, it was in my own house. But I digress.

This man was called over to cut my keys. I have a set of three. Two normal keys and one skinny key.

The skinny key needs a special machine. You measure the key, mark where you cut and the depth of cut, and then go for it. The first key he cut wasn’t quite right so he tried again. I didn’t mind. I was absorbed by a Buzzfeed article.

He cut it again. Brushed the key off and held it to the original.

The key matched! He cheered! “I did it! Yeeessss” This was a World Cup goal scoring level of excitement.

"Why are you so excited?" I asked.

He explained that not everyone can cut a key like that and he hadn’t seen one in ages. It’s a special technique and he explained how the machine cut a key by combining a number and position of the lever - like creating halves. Most of the team didn’t understand the half system so it was his own special technique.

He cut the next two keys, a grin from ear to ear.

I left the hardware store buoyant. He found his moment of joy, his work white whale, in a long thin key. Where was I going to find mine today?

That search for joy reminds me of #100dayshappy, a one a day photo challenge that has you capture one happy moment of your day. A reminder to yourself that every day has a bit of happiness in it. That we need to look for those moments of sunshine in our lives so that everyday is sunny.

It’s so easy to get up and resent your long day ahead. Get bogged down in minutia. But what will you create that will give you that joy? How will you nudge the needle forward? Get one step closer to making a difference? One step further on the path to your goals?

How will you find your one moment of joy today?