Jane Witherspoon is a Canadian expat, adventurous spirit, and dedicated yoga instructor who now calls Dénia, Spain home. A passionate Rambler at heart, she embraces the richness of life in her new Mediterranean lifestyle.
As women in midlife and beyond, many of us are in a season of shift — careers evolve, children grow up, parents age, and our roles begin to change. It's easy to feel untethered, searching for new meaning and direction in your changing life.
But this phase of life also holds an invitation to slow down and see our lives anew—not for what’s changing, but for what’s quietly blooming. Joy spotting helps us reconnect with the present moment, with gratitude, and ultimately, with ourselves again.
The Art of Joy Spotting is the intentional practice of slowing down, noticing, and actively seeking out those small, delightful moments in your everyday life. It is the act of looking for things that spark your joy.
I used to rush everywhere, always in a hurry to get things done and to reach the next destination. Raising three daughters while working as a paralegal in a big city,all while my husband was launching a business, made life feel like a constant whirlwind. There was little time to slow down and appreciate the abundance that our busy lives were actually providing.
Then midlife arrived with a question: What if there’s another way to live?
That question led me to a small island off the West Coast of Canada, Salt Spring Island, where life moved more slowly. I had retired early, and for the first time in decades, I had something I never truly had before: time.
No more packed schedules and early alarms. No more rushing from one task to the next. On Salt Spring, no one seemed to be in a hurry. At first, I didn’t know what to do with all the time and space I suddenly had.
I took long walks through the forest trails, sat by the ocean and watched the tides. Gradually, I began to move through my days without urgency and in those quiet moments I discovered something: life is full of joy-filled moments—I had just been too busy to notice them. This was the beginning of my journey of transformation.
Eventually, my journey took me to Panama. There, I was gifted with time to deepen my love for yoga, not just as a practice, but as a way of being. I trained, studied, and eventually became a yoga teacher.
Through movement, breath, and mindfulness, I learned how to be truly present in my own life. I learned to notice more deeply. To soften. To see. Most importantly, I learned the quiet practice of joy spotting, the art of finding delight in the small, everyday moments that so often go unnoticed.
As we navigate midlife and beyond, we often shed old roles, face unexpected changes, and can lose the familiar anchors that once defined us. But in the process we open ourselves to new anchors of greater possibilities and deeper meaning.
This transitional season invites us to slow down and choose presence. Joy spotting isn’t complicated—it simply requires a willingness to look. Look for the small pleasures. Notice the beauty in slowness. Pay attention to what fills your heart with joy.
And so my Sole Sisters, as you move through your week, where in your life might you slow down just enough to catch the small joys that often go unnoticed?
“I believe that joy is at the core of my being.
I know the joy I seek is already within me.
I commit to it with a lightness and ease that
evaporates all barriers. I will create joyful
moments with every heartbeat.”
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