Joy will find you — if you let it | David Larbi

You're listening to Ted Talk's Daily where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hugh. Today, we're sharing a talk by poet David Larby who asks the question, "What if joy isn't something that only shows up in life's biggest moments, but something quietly waiting for us every day?" I don't think that it's naive at all to look for joy in the everyday. In fact, if I'm ever to be truly content, it seems to me to be the only way. There's nothing too small to be happy about. David reflects on the strange yet beautiful balance between sadness, resilience, and the small ordinary moments that make life feel lighter, like stopping to appreciate the perfect bite of food. "Joy is not just a fanciful thing. It's a whimsical, powerful tool. It's a thread of resilience woven into our lives." He offers us a gentle reminder that even when things feel like they're falling apart and life starts to feel too complicated, there are cracks where light gets in, and maybe it's just a matter of learning where to look. That's coming up right after a short break. And now our Ted Talk of the Day. If you're able to, please close your eyes. Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out. Relax your shoulders and clench your jaw. Take another deep breath in and another breath out. You can open your eyes now. My name is David. I'm a poet and author. I write about the things that bring me joy. You'd be surprised just how often that means. I pick up my pen and use my voice. Whenever I have a truly bad day, frustrating as it may be, it's a matter of time until my next smile. Good things are coming to me. That may sound good, it may sound naive, life is far more complicated than that. I won't argue with you. I know that that's true. No one makes it through their whole life intact. If you talk to every pillow I've had in my life, you would hear about plenty of tears. If you stole my journal from my hotel room, you would read about plenty of fears. If I'd had the emotional literacy when I was younger, you'd have heard me articulate pain. I'd do all I can to avoid all of those stakes, but I'm sure that I'll feel them again. I'm saying all this with a smile on my face, not because I don't understand language. I just know this far more for my feelings in store. I look on the bright side. It's a habit. Because even in the very worst of times, when it seems I'll always feel down. I've learned over time in the darkest of skies, they'll come a break in the clouds. I don't think that it's naive at all to look for joy in the every day. I mean, truly, nothing at all. And because I take small joys most seriously, they stack up to be rather tall. You see, if I really saw real happiness as the big head-lined news events, I'd have maybe one a month if I'm lucky, and between them, what would I do then? I think of the day that my sister was born, of the singular joy that there was. Moments like that, the joys beyond belief. They're so immense they almost have to be words off. Some things have to exist at that scale to be truly appreciated. That doesn't mean my reserves of joy can't be regularly topped up and updated. Because joy is not just a fanciful thing. It's a thread of resilience woven into our lives when there are cracks in things joy brings life through. Even if my happiness isn't total, even when I don't think I deserve it. Finding the small joys in every day is a practice that's always so worth it. As a seizure on some days and others, it takes effort that I would deny. But I am deserving of my own best efforts. Life is effort, why wouldn't I try? I spent far too long believing that joy was for someone more deserving than me. I spent even longer believing contentment was ambition's worst enemy. When in fact, we matter because we exist. We deserve joy by virtue of this. And contentment means that any ambition that follows is the healthiest kind that exists. I am capable of finding moments of joy. There are plenty of opportunities. And if I can find joy wherever I am, then where I am, joy shall be. Next time you'll drink is the perfect temperature. Or your fork holds the perfect bite. Next time you put on your favourite socks or adjust so you're sitting just right. Next time you stumble across a great song that you haven't heard in a while. Next time you catch eyes with a stranger who offers a nod or a genuine smile. When you stretch your body and relax it again, when you take a deep breath and you sigh. When you get to relax at the end of a long day, when you turn your face up to the sky, then the life is made of the average days and each one offers joy a plenty. The smallest joys are the simplest to find and they add up more often than any. I always pay attention when a small joy grabs me. Some say, "Easily pleased," I say, "frequently happy." Because you deserve it, because I do too. In our everyday, made joy always shine through. Thank you. That was David Larby at Tednext 2025. If you're curious about Ted's curation, find out more at Ted.com/CurationGuidelines. And that's it for today. Ted Talks Daily is part of the Ted Audio Collective. This talk was fact-checked by the Ted Research Team and produced and edited by our team. Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Green, Lucy Little, and Tonsaca, Songmarnivong. This episode was mixed by Christopher Faisy-Bogan, additional support from Emma Tobner and Danielle Balorezo. I'm Elise Hugh, I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening.