In which the snail’s on the wing, the lark’s on the thorn — or rather, the other way around.

My therapist and I were discussing how to find joy given, you know, everything. I said that I’d prefer steady contentment to the ups-and-downs of joy and sorrow, but that’s rarely how life works.

One of the biggest problems of my habit is, of course, the temporary mood boost that comes along with it, but it also involves a crash that can make depression and anxiety even worse.

But: on the rare occasions when I manage to match fresh air and exercise with eating well and/or sleeping well and/or not drinking, I often find myself close to euphoria — to the point where I wonder if some of it isn’t coming from smugness at having done The Good Thing, or just the good fortune of matching positive hormonal balance with decent weather. Surely a brisk 15-minute walk while listening to one of my favourite playlists and then putting green peas on the plate couldn’t make this much of a difference in my mood.

Prompt for this week, with apologies to Marie Kondo: what sparks joy for you? And how does that interact with habits you are trying to build or break?

How is everyone doing?