When visiting London, I loved checking out the artistic window displays for the large department stores and other major retailers, including several that had impressive food halls (another topic for another day). Many had festive seasonal decorations and detailed, whimsical installations worthy of an art museum. Recently, Fortnum & Mason posted photos of their latest Piccadilly windows on Instagram, recognizing “some of the finest designers, artists and freelancers from the world of London theatre.”
The praise for an industry in need and acknowledgement of these talented artists is intentional and thoughtful from a public relations perspective, so I liked this post from the first sentence, but there is even more to appreciate here. Given a simple charge to ‘MAKE JOY,’ the artists each took different directions, and it struck me that simplicity in instruction causes that. Undoubtedly, ‘MAKE JOY’ is a beautiful directive to receive—it feels like the world is available to you—but it got me thinking about how I give directions and when it might make sense to purposely offer a broader brief, ask a wider question, or give little instruction at all.
When might you benefit from keeping it open-ended or letting someone else decide which direction to take? How about your team and colleagues? Your students? Your loved ones, your children, or your friends?
How can you ‘MAKE JOY’ today? In your work and in your life, do you prioritize time for yourself to create, write, build, organize, move, play, share, speak, listen, learn, explore, observe, give, and more in a joyful way? Especially right now, I find value in being deliberate about scheduling time to ‘MAKE JOY’ in both my professional space and my personal life. It enriches all I do and makes me better.
I’ll patiently wait for my chance to see these windows in person again, but I will hold on to the inspiration of that simple directive in the meantime. If you’re in London, they’ll be up until April, according to the Instagram post. Send me a photo! If you aren’t in London, join me in deliberately MAKING JOY today and every day.
