Some days seem as if we are moving through concrete or quicksand, and any progress or satisfaction appears to be hard-won. On other days, though, we manage to move into the flow with a particular lightness and ease. It’s a cyclical turn: first you have a hard day, and then next I’ll have difficult one. And in between, we somehow find moments of joy. But what can we do when it’s our turn to have the difficult day?

I recently came across a new word: freudenfreude. It means to take joy in someone else’s joy or success. So rather than thinking, “Why did this good thing happen to them and not me?” we instead decide to take pleasure in others’ joy. We are genuinely happy for the good that comes to other people, those we know and those we don’t, because we believe in the premise behind the saying, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” Though the saying’s origins may have been economic in nature, it can apply to joy and happiness in general. By participating in freudenfreude, we boost our level of joy and smooth out the troughs of difficulty.

Photo courtesy of Kuhlens Photography