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We Can Do Hard Things · April 28, 2026 · 1h 2m

How to Get Your Joy Back: Ross Gay (Best Of)

Poet and essayist Ross Gay explores joy not as escapism but as evidence of connection and presence in the world. The conversation centers on rebuilding your capacity for delight, the power of witnessing others' joy, and the daily practices that anchor us in aliveness and community. Gay's work moves beyond gratitude into active, radical joy—a way back into the world rather than away from it.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Curious

Like any muscle, your capacity for delight weakens if you don't use it, but it can be deliberately rebuilt through small, daily practices of noticing.

Editorial

Joy Is Evidence of Connection, Not Escapism
Joy and delight are not ways to deny the world's pain, but rather evidence that you're still connected to it—present, witnessing, and alive.
Witnessing Someone Else's Joy Heals Your Own
When you watch someone else experience genuine delight—their aliveness, their presence—it can pull you out of numbness and reconnect you to your own capacity for joy.
"Unknowing" People You Love Deepens Connection
Letting go of fixed ideas about who someone is—their habits, their roles, their patterns—allows fresh discovery and deeper intimacy.
Deliberate attention to small beauties—tastes, colors, kindnesses—is a cumulative practice that gradually restores your sense of being alive and part of the world.

References

Catalog of Unabashed GratitudeRoss Gay (2014)National Book Critics Circle Award winner; explores gratitude and joy

Misc

Ross founded the Bloomington Community Orchard—a 'free-fruit-for-all' food justice project that embodies his philosophy of shared joy
He's a former college football player turned poet—an unexpected path that mirrors his theme of unknowing and rediscovering what matters
His work centers on the radical act of noticing beauty in a world designed to make you miss it
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