Tidings of comfort and joy

So I've been thinking a lot lately about the difference between comfort and joy.  This has come up because I've been stressed a lot recently, and my usual coping things (food, 30 Rock, Mean Girls, retail therapy) have either been unavailable or not working as well as they used to.  And I realized it's because I've been seeking a lot of comfort lately, and it's become less effective.  I haven't really been trying to be happy, I've just looked for something to make me feel less sad.

I mention this because I talked to my therapist about how I've been doing yoga and I don't feel like it's helped enough, and he told me that yoga was a great way to reduce symptoms, but it wasn't really the place to work on my issues.  I think he's right.

I've created a comfortable life for myself and gotten comfortable in it.  I've realized the reason I've been missing my ex so much is that he, too, was a comfort when things got tough.  And comfort is wonderful.  But I want more than that.  I want joy.

It's not a completely foreign feeling, but it's something I know I need to work at finding more of in my life.   Yoga brings me comfort.  Running, I have realized, brings me joy.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to go in a week due to being scared to run while on the cleanse, and my lower back deciding to go crazy yesterday.

Other things I will be trying in my pursuit of joyousness:

• volunteering
• Team in Training
• doing more new things (they don't call it a comfort zone for nothing)