I Am…Finding Delight
A seasonal story about small joys, shared humanity, and what keeps us going
December has a way of sharpening things.
The days grow shorter. The year asks to be reviewed. The body may ache more. The absence of what we’ve lost—health, ease, people, certainty—can feel louder during the holidays. And do we really feel like decorating this year?
And yet, year after year, something else happens on Smart Patients: people start sharing joy.
They share small, honest moments of delight, passing them gently around to each other.
Here’s how it happens. Someone mentions a small moment that delighted them - something that touched them deeply. Then the responses start to roll in.
Joy in nature: Someone wakes up to see a single flower on their phone screen and appreciates its beauty. Someone watches a hawk eat figs. Someone else watches ducks at a pond. Another person mentions birds that are lined up neatly at a feeder. Someone notices the way snow clings to trees. Someone else writes about the feeling when seeing the sunshine finally reaching the mountaintops. Another comments on how freezing fog turns an ordinary morning into something enchanted. Someone delights in orchids blooming after years of neglect. Another comments on her succulents having babies.
Joy in movement: Someone rides in an old convertible, top down in the cold with the heat blasting, laughing at the impracticality of it all. Someone dances in their kitchen to a Christmas song. A caregiver noticed their loved one walking a little farther today - twice around the loop instead of once.
Joy in how they feel. Someone wrote about how their medication didn’t cause side effects today. Someone else appreciates waking up without pain. Another was happy the cancer didn’t take away their appetite that day. Someone realizes, standing at the counter chopping greens, that they are standing. Someone laughs until they cry at something their partner says. Another reports hearing a song they just had to sing along with.
Joy in being a grandparent. Someone loved that their grandchild called and needed glue. A grandmother hears “Nonna flower” over FaceTime and smiles. A grandfather watches a toddler run into his arms and feels time collapse into a single, perfect moment.
Last but not least, joy in pets. Someone appreciated the cat choosing their lap that day. Someone watches their dog discovering the best smells garbage day has to offer. Another sends a photo of their dog playing like a puppy in the season's first snow.
These moments of gratitude remind us that, despite diagnoses, there is still room for delight. These moments don’t erase fear, fix what’s broken, or promise outcomes; but joy doesn’t require perfect health. Happiness can coexist with grief. Even in uncertainty, life continues to meet us with small, shining moments.
When one person shares a moment of delight, it’s contagious. So in December, when the season can feel heavy, the Smart Patients community is present to remind us that joy is still here.
Sometimes it finds us. Sometimes we seek it. And sometimes, we create it together.
