What brings you joy?

Let’s bring more joy to our lives.

Bismillah

Photo by MI PHAM on Unsplash

At the start of June, I made a conscious decision. Not just a passing thought or wishful hope, but rather, a real, intentional choice. I wanted to bring more joy into my life.

I opened Canva, typed the word joy in a soft, golden script, and added it to a photo that made me feel light. Then I set it as my iPad screensaver. A quiet reminder to choose joy, see it, name it, make space for it.

Days later, the

Muslim Writers' Salon

I’m part of announced the theme for the month: Joy.

Subhan’Allah.

I sat down soon after and made a list. Not of big dreams or far-off desires — just the things that already bring me joy.

The smell of clean laundry, crisp and fresh like dewdrops on grass.

The rhythm of footsteps and bits of conversation floating past me on a walk.

The sudden, carefree laughter of a child playing somewhere nearby.

And then a memory surfaced. My grandmother’s hand wrapped around mine — soft, wrinkled, familiar. In her kitchen drawer, a wooden pastry wheel always waited. I never saw her make cookies or any pastries for that matter. She made coconut bread instead, dense and golden with a crisp crust. But the cutter stayed, like a quiet piece of history.

That’s what joy is. Not always loud or scheduled. Sometimes it hides in warmth, memory, scent, texture.

And all of it — every bit of it — is rizq from Allah.

Joy isn’t something we earn once life is perfect. It’s something we’re gifted in the middle of the mess, if we choose to see it. The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Whoever is not grateful for small things will not be grateful for large things. Whoever does not thank people has not thanked Allah Almighty.”

Source: al-Firdaws lil-Daylamī 5962

Grade: Lahu shawahid (corroborated) according to Al-Sakhawi

Gratitude waters the soil where joy grows. And joy is generous. It multiplies when acknowledged.

Photo by Jacqueline Munguía on Unsplash

This June, I’m not chasing joy. I’m choosing to welcome it — to notice it in the smallest places, to name it, and to thank Allah for it. And something has shifted. Not everything around me, but something within me.

And now, I’d love for you to begin your own journey into joy.

Not the joy someone else expects from you, not the version tied to perfection or performance.

But the joy that is already near. The joy that’s meant for you.

Maybe it’s in a scent, a sound, a memory. Or your morning cuppa! For me it’s my morning cup of coffee in my tiny cup with just the right balance of instant coffee and evaporated milk. It’s my way of start in each day joyfully and a moment to soak up the blessings. What about you? Maybe it’s something you haven’t paused long enough to feel. Or maybe, like me, you need to sit down, open a blank page, and let it rise to the surface.

Because joy is rizq. Andd when we look for it with gratitude, Allah gives us more.

Journaling Prompts:

What small moment — quiet, ordinary, or unexpectedly beautiful — made you feel alive, seen, or at peace?

What does that joy tell you about what your heart needs more of right now?

Your joy is waiting. Go find it.

And when you do, feel and say, Alhamdu’lillah.

Much love,

Nour Cauveren

P.S. A beautiful reminder from Sarah Sultan on transforming struggles into gratitude