Friday, May 1st, 2026

Friday Feature: The Purposeful Practice of Joy

Dear Friend of the Page,

As May arrives, it invites us to take a moment and reflect.

Not to chase joy.

Not to perform it.

But to practice it.

This week, I have been sitting with the work of Ross Gay, who reminds us that joy is not a temporary emotion reserved for perfect days. It is something we return to. Something we tend. Something we notice on purpose. For instance, on sunny days, when the warmth radiates through the windows at work, I take a seat and sun soak. The yellow warmth seeps throughout me, and at that moment, everything is right in my world.

In his writing, delight doesn’t just happen by chance. It’s something we practice.

He’s not the only one who understands this.

Writers in Conversation: Joy as Inheritance, Not Exception

Nikki Giovanni shows us that joy doesn’t need permission. It lives in everyday things, like a meal, a memory, or a laugh that lingers and stays with us. Her work reminds us that joy isn’t just a reward for surviving; it’s what helps us move forward.

Lucille Clifton offers a quieter but equally strong view. Her poems take delight in the body, in breathing, surviving, and accepting ourselves. She shows that truly honoring who we are is an act of joy.

Bell hooks builds on this idea. She reminds us that joy grows from our relationships. Care, love, and attention are not extras; they are practices. When we nurture joy, we help heal ourselves and those around us.

Together, these writers echo what Ross Gay makes plain:

Joy isn't separate from the world as it is.

It is how we remain human within it.

Guiding Question

What does it mean to practice joy on purpose—especially when the world suggests otherwise?

Sit with that. Let it follow you through the day.

A Passage to Sit With

If you have access to The Book of Delights, begin anywhere.

Read slowly.

Notice what he notices:

• A gesture

• A memory

• A fleeting moment most of us would overlook

Let that be your instruction.

A Small Joy Practice to Try All Month

You don’t have to change your whole life to find joy.

Just notice what’s already here.

Try this:

• Keep a daily list. Write down one small delight each day, no matter how ordinary.

• Say it out loud and let your voice hold onto it a little longer.

• Come back to your body. Where do you feel joy today?

• Care for something, whether it’s a plant, a page, a relationship, or a quiet ritual.

• Don’t dismiss what brings you light. Value it.

Let this be enough.

Joy is not something we stumble upon. It is something we tend.

Closing Cadence

The world will offer you many reasons to turn away from joy.

To postpone it.

To believe it must be earned.

The writers before us have left another way.

They show us that joy can be practiced.

That it can be protected.

That it can grow, slowly and with intention, until it starts to shape the life around it.

The unanswered questions have a place on the page; lean into the lineage before us.

We are Friends of the Page, and we write the work forward.