Do you have a daily joy?

Something that gives you the giggles, something that catches your eye and induces this radiant, wonder-like feeling?

Take a moment to pause and remember: Think back to when you were a kid and immerse yourself in the laughter of jumping amidst hundreds of bubbles you blew with your friends, or when you spiked that colorful beach ball so high up to the clouds, or when you were driving through the tail-end of a rainstorm and looked up to see the most magnificent rainbow.

That is joy.

While making my weekly sunset drive from DC to Charlottesville after a grad school weekend, I was introduced to the concept of the study of joy through a podcast. Based on Ingrid Fetell Lee’s research, I learned why we are so drawn to circular objects like beach balls and bubbles (since spheres are “safe shapes”), and why we like collections of tiny things so much (since the sum of parts is greater than the whole).

Have you ever seen or cuddled in a pile of puppies or kittens? Or run through a field of flowers?

That is joy.

And here is where joy is different from the oft-sought-after “happiness.” The podcast states that while many chase happiness, it is a long-term and often elusive concept. Joy, on the other hand, is tiny and immediate. It has nothing to do with acquiring things, or traveling to exotic places, or any other grandiose ideas, since joy is the act of noticing the here and now. It is simply being awake and open to letting the quotidian world amaze you.

For example, as I’m typing this at my favorite coffee shop, I just noticed the barista is wearing the same exact socks as I am! Why this is such a joy for me is because I chose those socks purposefully this morning, and because the barista and I had a lovely conversation when I was ordering my coffee earlier. Now, our worlds intersected once more with our shared affinity for a certain kind of sock, and that, to me, is joy. As soon as I noticed this little serendipity, I smiled deeply to myself.

So why should we care about joy?

Joy is additive, which means that the more of it you have in your life, the more it compounds and the more joyful you feel. I tried this on myself: after I listened to the podcast, I actually went looking for joy during my mundane drive. For example, I noticed how the drab winter tree branches made a curious hot-air-balloon shape against the orange sunset sky, or how the lights of the incoming traffic looked like a glowing yellow river in the distance. Keep in mind that this is a 2.5 hour drive I’ve made hundreds of times–yet I still noticed something new that time.

These teeny-tiny details of everyday life made me smile, which spread positive emotion, which made me happier, and which is also backed by science.

That night after I got home, I took a second to observe the droplets of water on my steamy bathroom mirror and follow their rivulets down the glass, and seeing myself in the reflection, wondered why I didn’t look for joy more often.

There, I learned that, just like daily practices and mediation, looking for joy makes one more prone to finding it, and that in turns adds a dollop of color to an otherwise busy, hectic life. It is the sheer benefit of noticing that helps me to slow down and revel in just how joyous a day–and lifetime–can be.

So, what is your daily joy?

It really is right there if you stop and pay attention.