gardens are not uncomplicated entities; they can be wrought with weeds and require attention, effort, and care

as does our joy.

in order to fully experience true, boundless, blooming joy, some sort of abandon and release are involved, which is a form of trust in our bodies and hearts that allows joy to flourish.

each moment of heartache, each tear that slides down reddened cheeks, each feeling of clenched tightness in the chest are watering the joy that is a garden.

without these cloudier, rainier, mistier moments, the fullness of our joy would lack room for expression.

joy does not look the same every time it is experienced, much like the startling differences of flowers peppered across a garden.

however,

these flowers all come from the same ground; the same, rich soil births joyous flowers in a similar way that our bodies harbor joy.

let your joy be a garden, and let the darker moments water it.