Over the past year, I have made it a practice to find sparks of joy in each day. Even on the bad days, there’s at least one thing good that I experienced, felt, or encountered. In honor of my 54th birthday today, I made a list of 54 things that bring me joy instead of ruminating about my current health status

1. Finding a 4-leafer hiding in a clover patch
2. The electricity inside Yankee Stadium, especially following a win
3. Watermelon anything
4. Discovering a beautiful sea shell or piece of sea glass on the beach
5. An early morning bird song
6. Searching for rainbows after sun showers
7. Unexpected and short-lived snow squalls
8. Laughter coming from my nieces and nephews, and just being with them
9. Dawn’s colors transforming from muted to explosions and the sun as it just peeks from under the horizon to start the day
10. The exhilaration of riding a new or favorite roller coaster
11. The aroma of the ocean overlaid with tanning lotion and funnel cakes
12. Amusement parks and boardwalks
13. A Grand Slam, regardless of who hit it, and when a baseball player hits for the cycle
14. Star Wars, Avengers, and Boba Fett
15. My toes digging in the sand as the ocean lightly laps around my ankles
16. The first snow flurries of the season as they dance down from the clouds
17. Yoga and meditation
18. Getting in the flow when I am writing and losing all sense of time
19. Coloring with crayons and colored pencils
20. Pins, especially from places I visit
21. A Kohr’s chocolate or orange twist ice cream cone
22. Daily texts from my brother
23. Popcorn
24. Little bits-and-bobs and toys
25. Teal, turquoise, and aqua blue
26. Watching butterflies and hummingbirds drinking the nectar from flowers I grew from seed
27. Stickers
28. Connecting with others in person and/or through my words
29. Going on adventures with treasured people
30. Being totally stupid and laughing at utter nonsense with my oldest friends
31. Hearing the spring peepers after a long winter
32. Clean sheets
33. Serendipitous encounters that lead me down a new path or provide me with insight
34. Finding a feather, especially one from a Blue Jay
35. Happy faces – I find them hiding everywhere!
36. The voices of Robert Smith, Anthony Keidis, and Dave Grohl
37. Fireworks exploding in the night sky
38. Exploring someplace new or someplace familiar with different eyes 
39. Watching the boats come and go down at the Inlet, especially the race boats
40. A perfectly ripe and juicy nectarine
41. Connecting with like-minded people
42. Rereading “The Outsiders” for the billionth time
43. The smell right after a springtime rain shower
44. Crinkle cut french fries
45. Seinfeld references
46. Sunflowers
47. Many Eddie Murphy movies and Ghostbusters (1 and 2)
48. Narwhals
49. Notebooks and sticky notes
50. Jersey tomatoes and Jersey corn
51. When the underdog wins
52. The aroma of coconut
53. Writing with sparkly, glitter, and metallic ink pens
54. Shining my light to kindle the light in others

Become a joy seeker like me and notice the joy in your own life. I promise your days will become more enjoyable and you will feel more grounded. And let your light shine and kindle the light in others.

My next post will contain updates about my stem cell transplant recovery. Spoiler alert: I’m doing fine with only a few hiccups.

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

“54 Joys” was posted on jillocone.com on February 12, 2025. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2025, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.