The Path to Joy

Today's episode features more cooking!! I share some cooking stories and get a really good lesson in patience from a 13-year-old baker!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help you on your joy journey, can be found on my website: melissabloom.life.   H...

Today's episode honors an incredible woman who passed away in September -- Dr. Gladys Taylor McGarey. She was 103 and 3/4! I share a few of her thoughts today -- on aging, health, and purpose!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help you on your joy jo...

Do you have ever a day that is just so wonderful and so completely unexpected? I had one a few weeks ago. I had no idea when I woke up that morning that it would make it into my 'top ten' best days. AND that it would involve three teenage boys cooking up a storm!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All...

I'm all about finding new ways to live in appreciation. Sometimes a good prompt, one that allows us to be appreciative of even the smallest things like a wobbly coffee cup not tipping over or Instacart, is all you need! Today's prompt is one of my new faves!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of th...

Today's episode is inspired by a beautiful poem by Hannah Rosenberg 'Until I Thought of Myself as the Sea.' With the most simple words, Hannah gives us permission to be all emotions, everything, all at once.    Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help yo...

Are any of us good at receiving praise?? Considering how much we thrive on external validation, we are pretty awful about actually receiving praise -- allowing it to sink in. Let's chat about some ways to 'receive' today!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information tha...

Today's episode is about the power of listening to ground us, to help anchor us when we feel unmoored. 'Listening' is a wonderful tool to help us stay present and be right here.    Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help you on your joy journey, can be...

Today's episode is about a BIG move: helping my mom move from NYC to PA. So much to tell you. So many emotions. I don't know how I fit it all into eight minutes! Moving is hard and a good reminder that we can do hard things!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information...

Today's episode is about 'the worries.' Worry begets more worry. And, as the incomparable Erma Bombeck once said, "Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere."   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help you on...

Today’s episode is inspired by the ten day period celebrating the Jewish New Year: The Days of Awe. Isn’t that the best name! We could all use a bit more awe -- even small ’awe.’ Let’s chat about awe and how we can bring more into our lives.   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails,...

Today's episode is a confession. No, I don't have a serious shopping addiction but I'm not going to spill the beans. You'll just have to listen to find out!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help you on your joy journey, can be found on my website: m...

Today's episode is about your guidance system. How do you know how to begin down a path towards something that maybe you can't even name yet? As much as we'd love our 'yellow brick road' to be lit up for miles and miles, it may light up only one step at a time.    Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All o...

We play a lot of games in our house. There are times when I'm tired and I don't feel like playing. Today's episode is about a recent 'talking to' I gave myself!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help you on your joy journey, can be found on my websit...

It's so easy to take the people in our lives for granted -- especially those we see daily. Sometimes a little absence can help remind us how much we have to appreciate!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help you on your joy journey, can be found on m...

Today's episode is inspired by a re-watching of the movie Forrest Gump! I got so much from watching the movie decades later. If only we could all just say, 'Yes!' and not constantly talk ourselves out of things!    Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may hel...

Today's episode touches on one of my very favorite topics -- 'coincidences!' We are truly surrounded by so much wonder but we often don't pay attention to it: it slips past our gaze. So, today, I share some of my favorite recent 'wonder' stories!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, em...

Today's episode is about, drum roll please, a TV show! Yes, I know it sounds silly. As someone who grew up watching quite a bit of TV (and somehow still became a semi-functional adult), I'm always tickled when a TV show has the power to connect people.   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guid...

The first day of school was, surprise-surprise, a bit emotional for me this year. Yes, there were some tears at Trader Joes but also some thoughts I was surprised by. We are complex creatures -- humans!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help you on y...

Well, I think this episode will make you laugh and cry (not too much). Yes, we had to say goodbye to our beloved hamster, Cheddar. Who, frankly, was my kind of gal!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help you on your joy journey, can be found on my we...

Moving is such an emotional process. Well, at least it is for me and I'm not even the one moving! But, on the plus side, moving can help unearth some hidden gems!!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help you on your joy journey, can be found on my web...

Today's episode is inspired by a question asked on a recent JOY SCHOOL call -- why are we so obsessed with productivity?? It is curious: we are always trying to get more done and yet we are never actually 'done' with our to-do lists. Let's talk about productivity and how we can give ourselves permission to perhaps be a bit less productive.    Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people cha...

Today's episode was inspired by my dear friend Alvina! She sent me a post with one of my absolute favorite Charlie Mackesy quotes of all time: 'One of our greatest freedoms is how we react to things.'    So, today I share a few of my favorite quotes from two incredible books. Because we all need reminders. Reminders of how wonderful we are, how lucky this world is to have us, and how much possibil...

Today's episode takes place on Block Island -- 13 miles off the coast of Westerly, Rhode Island. It features a treasure hunt (actual name of the hunt 'orbivores')! Do we find the treasure?? Listen to find out!   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help y...

We are in Vermont and we have no power! What could there possibly be to be grateful for?? A lot I guess! Today's episode is all about small, simple gratitude.    Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.   All of the guides, emails, and information that may help you on your joy journey, can be found on my website...

No, today's episode is not about the Royal family!! We recently re-watched The Royal Tenenbaums -- more than two decades after my first viewing. The movie and the soundtrack brought back a lot of memories for me -- prompting me to contemplate where life has taken me.   Thanks so much for listening! I love helping people change (and improve!) their perception of their lives -- aka find more JOY.  ...