Almost light out! Is it time to get up? Another beautiful day? Time to get up yet? You awake there? Time to get up?

Yippee! Love today!! Let’s go! Gotta go! Going outside now? Hurray!!! Come on Sage, let’s go outside and bark at the moon! Another wonderful day! Maybe we’ll hear the owls again. Won’t this be fun?

Hellooooo in there! Is it time for breakfast yet? Love breakfast! Yummy yummy breakfast. Not fussy. Any breakfast will do! I’m up and at ‘em, ready to eat! I get to eat. I’m so lucky!

Is it time to go for a walk? Not yet. Ok, now? What about now? Love the walk. Run, fly through the grass, feel the wind in my ears, breathe the fresh air, roll in the dirt. Is it time yet? Yesssss! Walk time. Let’s go!!!

Finding joy in the simple things in life has numerous benefits for mental health. Particularly when we’re dealing with stressful situations, a conscious effort to look for the small pleasures and focus on them at least for the moment can bring relief by affecting neurobiological ‘reward’ systems and reducing biological stress reactions. In fact, finding pleasure in the moment is the basis for stress-reduction coping strategies, such as mindfulness.

But there are some people, and four-legged critters like Vinny, who have an indomitable sense of joy in life. No matter what happens, there is a deep sense of contentment and happiness that contributes to resilience in the face of challenges. Vinny’s porcupine friend didn’t daunt him in the least – to the contrary, he went to check up on his new friend the next day. Such a stable inner sense of joy might reflect an optimistic personality, but not entirely, because indomitable joy reflects a capacity to face the full range of human experience, including both happiness and sorrow. It can emanate from having a sense of purpose and meaning, positive social connections, an openness to new possibilities in life, and spiritual connections.