The Joy of Enjoying

On October 23rd, I participated in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon. I had a great time reading–something I do not get to do enough. I like sleep too much to make the full 24 hours, but I did read for just over 15 hours. It was a fantastic day. My to-read pile had seven books in it at the beginning of the readathon. I read four of them and was thrilled with that accomplishment. In case you are interested, these were the books I read.

• Good News! GOD HAS A PLAN, by Dean Moore, M.DIV., M.S.
• Life’s Journeys According to Mister Rogers: Things to Remember Along the Way, by Fred Rogers
• A Collection of Love Gifts, by Helen Steiner Rice
• Raptured, by Ernest Angley

Another win for the day was that all four books were very good reads. I recommend all of them.

I heard about the readathon in October of last year and put it on my 2021 calendar so I would not miss the opportunity to take part in it. I kept that day sacred as in highly valued and important. I talked about it and reminded my household that I was participating and would be reading all day and into the night. As the day was approaching, I reminded my family and forewarned my husband that I would not be cooking and asked if he would pick us up something for dinner.

Why? Because it was important to me. Yes, I had to say “no” and “I have plans” when asked if I was free that day. Why? Because it was important to me. I wanted to enjoy my day of reading.

While reading A Collection of Love Gifts by Helen Steiner Rice, I read her poem A Thankful Heart. In it, she used the phrase “the joy of enjoying,” and it stopped me.

I fell in love with the idea. Although I did not know of the phrase before that day, I looked back and saw that I had “the joy of enjoying” leading up to the readathon.

In September, I got more and more excited for October 23rd. The week of the 23rd, all I could do was think about how great Saturday would be. It propelled me through the week. I found happiness thinking about the readathon. I was delighted to peruse my many unread books for just the right ones for that special day. I was thrilled that the day of the readathon was a beautiful day and I could sit outside and move from the heat of the sun to the cool of the shade of the tree. I relished reading all day and into the night and doing nothing else.

We know joy is a choice. We need to live in the moment and realize we are having a good time or are enjoying ourselves. It is only then that we can find “the joy of enjoying.” 

I realize I might have been able to read more if I would have stopped thinking about what I was reading, but where is “the joy in enjoying” if I did that?

PS: NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) begins November 1st. Let me know if you are participating this year!

Thank you once again, Melissa Santarsiero, for use of the beautiful photo.