Who are The Joyous Ones?
The Joyous Ones are people who, despite setbacks, live deeper, richer and more meaningful lives.
Monique Salazar
Founder, JD/MBA
My Story - Finding The Joyous Ones
Ironically, the secret to living a joyful life comes out of research on pain and trauma. I made this discovery after the death of my husband Bill, who left behind me, our two babies, and overwhelming grief. My brain ran in circles: How would I go forward? How would I parent without him?
Being a lawyer, I read. I read countless books on loss and grief, desperate to find answers. My bedside table looked like a graduate student’s, stacked with titles like “Handbook of Bereavement Research: Consequences, Coping and Care,” “Where You Left Me,” and “This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War.” It was my crash course in grief, bereavement, and, surprisingly: growth? And joy?
Because deep in the piles of textbooks and memoirs, buried in the blogs and the research tracts, I found them. A group that, after setbacks, became kinder. More appreciative of life. Focused on their positive personal relationships. Saw new possibilities in life. Took more risks. Became wiser.
This group struggles just as much as the rest of us, but they each find a way to transform their struggles into new skills and talents. Researchers call their new outlook thriving and label their new skills Post-Traumatic Growth. I call these skills their SPARK. And I named this group The Joyous Ones, a name I chose from a poem which encourages us to protect the joyful:
Tend your sick ones, rest your weary ones; bless your dying ones; soothe your suffering ones; pity your afflicted ones; and shield your joyous ones.
The purpose of The Joyous Ones is to help people ignite their SPARK and live their joy.
As for me, I am a lawyer, businesswoman, mother, and produced screenwriter. I am also the author of the forthcoming The Joyous Ones.