Call me trendy, but once the NYTimes let me know about “tiny little joys,” I was hooked. And I’m not talking about “a pastel-colored balloon at a child’s third birthday party” kind of joy but something that you can feel even in the darkness (The Joy Reset). “Joy does not exist only in the moments that are free of pain. That’s a false story. In fact, the brightest, tiniest, most important pieces can be found only in the dark” (McDonald). Yes, darkness.

Surrounded by the latest headlines that trigger, ignite and flame your fear, I am still going to ask you for a favor. Remember way back when social media was where you posted your best summer barbecue photos? Before influencers overtook the platform and peach pie pics were replaced by sly advertisements and political rants? I am making a promise to myself, and to y’all, that for the whole glorious month, all that I’ll post are the juicy joys of July. Care to join me? If you believe in the emerging field of positive psychology, I bet you already are saying YES! But where to start?

While our social media feeds pull us into frays clear across the globe for which we have no control, research is steering our attention toward the tiny right in our own small sphere. “Micro-moments of positivity like this really can improve your well-being, said Barbara Fredrickson, director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Even though these moments are fleeting, she said, they can “act as nutrients for psychological health and growth, helping you become a better version of yourself, little by little” (Dunn). Seems simple enough, but we know the addiction and fomo when we try to stop doom-scrolling, stop following the White House bully’s every screaming text, stop feeling responsible for every ill plaguing mankind. Little by little Dr. McDonald reminds us how.

Rather than waiting for the grand vacation, or the once in a life-time event, perhaps we can appreciate little.  Mary Catherine McDonald, a trauma researcher and author of “The Joy Reset,” uses another term for those bright bits of happiness: tiny little joys, or T.L.J.s. Dr. McDonald’s clients have told her that their T.L.J.s include the first sip of coffee in the morning or the satisfaction of peeling a banana into perfectly even strips (Dunn). And joy is only half of the equation. Dr. McDonald encourages us to find hope too by going little.

“Joy is here to ground you in the present moment, and hope is here to help you keep an eye on the horizon” (The Joy Reset). Maybe the horizon is just beyond where ever you find yourself today. Try a friendly chat with the Trader Joe’s cashier, lingering on the streak of pink at sunset, reveling in a postcard from an old friend: when you do each becomes a jumping off spot toward finding hope in your own messy moment. Start small. Start where you are.

Today I added two of my most favorite flowers to my shopping cart and then arranged them in a favorite vase. This tiny little joy could go by with minimal attention, but instead, I plan to rejoice in each petal unfurling as the blooms open.

Where will you find your T.L.J.s? How will you let that small sliver of joy and hope linger in your heart and mind and soul? Oh, do let me know, and please, flood your feeds with all the tiny little joys you discover this July. We can all use a smile.