If Katie Rackham were a season, she'd be summer. We could listen to her beautiful voice for hours. COVID-19 tried messing up each one of her major life events in 2020. From the bridal shower, to bachelorette party, to long planned and much anticipated wedding. But she wouldn't let the pandemic steal her joy.  She cried and laughed while planning and replanning the ceremony multiple times, as the state's health guidelines kept changing, sometimes on a daily basis. And she managed to find something good in every experience. We also had Maria from Colombia, and Stacey and Erika, both from Chicago, share their moments of joy with us. Leave us a voicemail at anchor.fm/whatbringsyoujoy and we'll feature you too!

We asked several people what brought them joy lately and shared their responses in a new segment, the Reel of Joy. The sound clips in the order of appearance are from Justine, Michael and Sarah. Our featured guest is Samar Al Ibrahim, medical device cybersecurity specialist with Intermountain Healthcare. Samar talks about a variety of hobbies she developed during the lockdown, from sewing masks, to wood carving, to gardening in her kitchen. She shares virtual dating advice and contemplates the importance of self-love. Check out @whatbringsyoujoypodcast on Instagram to see Samar's wood carving and Sarah's sketching. The instastories will also provide more info on the book mentioned in the episode, A Book That Takes Its Time: An Unhurried Adventure in Creative Mindfulness by Astrid van der Hulst and Irene Smit. 

Yulez and Rach talk rockhounding and sound baths, and discuss how emotions like fear and joy affect our minds. A producer and entrepreneur Benjamin Reece joins the conversation and shares his experiences filming COVID unit nurses and a Black Lives Matter documentary mini-series. He talks about adapting his work to our new reality, and his projections on the future of the business landscape in general and the events industry in particular. He shares his unique take on the semantics of joy, drawing parallels to filmmaking and bike riding. Books mentioned in the episode include Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee and The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Alan Singer. A big shout-out to Britney Penouilh for organizing the rockhounding adventure! We threw in some bloopers at the end to leave things off on a joyful note ;) 

Good friends Yulez and Rach introduce the podcast, and talk about Trevor Noah and Governor Cuomo. They discuss their takes on happiness and joy, and share favorite hygge moments. 

Here are the joyful words used in the episode. According to the Oxford Dictionary, hygge is a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture). For those interested in living like a happy Dane, The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living by Meik Wiking might be a good starting point. Gigil is a Tagalog word that refers to the feeling of pure joy when in the presence of overwhelming cuteness.

Stick around for some bloopers at the end and have some fun with us. Everyone can use a smile right now.

*Footnote: this is the new version of Episode 1. We have been applying some feedback and working hard to improve :)

Good friends Yulez and Rach introduce the podcast, and talk about Trevor Noah and Governor Cuomo. They reminisce about the good times and exchange moments of joy. A couple of guests drop in and share their unique takes on joy.

We threw in some bloopers at the end, because we tend to mess up, and because that's the kind of stuff that brings us joy. We are just warming up here - stick around and have some fun with us! Everyone can use a smile right now. 

Let's light up a spark of joy to reboot 2020. Bring us your karaoke-in-the-shower, moonwalk-when-nobody's-watching,  giggle-till-it-hurts moments, and we'll shamelessly pass them around to anyone who will take them. 

So what if life forced us to redefine the meaning of joy? We'll take that new version and run with it.

What brought you joy lately? Leave us a voicemail at anchor.fm/whatbringsyoujoy or tag us in your ig posts @whatbringsyoujoypodcast. Share your  moments of joy to have them featured on the show and leave us your contact info if you are available for a follow-up conversation. We'd love to hear from you!

We are looking for stories of joy, the funny, serious, weird and silly, and even the kind that you think should be banned because you are anti-joy. If you are in the latter category, we’ll have you chat with our guest host, Rona. She’s special, just like you.

Start your weekend off right with What Brings You Joy. Available anywhere you get your podcasts every Friday morning at 5 a.m. ET. Stay healthy, stay positive, and follow your joy!