"Joy is a net of love by which you
can catch souls." Mother Theresa
I had someone say to me the other day that this world has no joy.
Just sit with that one for a minute. No joy? Doesn’t that sound hopeless? I was
left with this empty feeling in my heart and her words have reverberated in my
head ever since. No joy? How sad is that?
I think that she was referring to the relentless negative news
that fills our newsfeeds and how beat down she felt by it all. The media -
mainstream or social - is a constant barrage of all that is wrong with the
world. Climate change/natural disasters, sexual predators, shootings, animal
cruelty, war, insane dictators armed with nuclear weapons....it just goes on
and on. If you focus on all of that then I can imagine how one might feel there
is no joy in the world.
A few years ago, I bought a mantra band that says, “Choose Joy.” I
wear it often as a reminder that joy is a choice. It's not something you should
take for granted and it’s definitely not something that you should wait around
for it to show up.
Joy is a result, aka: an emotion,
caused by some human experience. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines joy as an emotion evoked by
well-being, success, or good fortune by the prospect of possessing what one
desires. I think that within that definition lies people’s misunderstanding of
joy.
I believe that joy isn’t something you experience only as
a result of your own well-being, success, or good fortune. I
believe that you can watch someone else succeed or experience good fortune and
feel joy. Animals are a good example of joy being experienced through another.
Watching my dog roll around in the snow gives me pure joy because he looks so
happy doing it!
The act of giving can bring you joy too, and it can be infectious.
For example, when people pay for someone’s order behind them in the drive
through restaurant. Just knowing that the stranger behind you will experience
joy when they hear that their order has been paid for can leave you feeling joy
all day long. The fact that you “gave” joy to someone else often causes them to
want to give that feeling to another, and so on and so on.
I feel joy most when watching my kids play sports. I can practically
feel my heart expand with joy watching them get a goal or a hit or a basket.
It's such a strong feeling that can often bring me to tears because the joy is
so overwhelming. Music also gives me joy, especially when I’m driving and a
great tune comes on. I turn the radio up and sing loudly, even if I don't know
all the words. When I’m cooking and a great song comes on, I can’t help but
dance! When the song ends, I’m breathless and smiling and I feel so full of
joy. Reading a great book can bring me joy too. Most recently, I read “A Man
Called Ove.” If you want to feel pure joy, read that book. It is a heartwarming
story full of characters that will stay with you long after you finish
it.
Those are just some examples, but I’m sure if you think about it,
you could come up with at least three things that give you joy. Next, try to
figure out the last time you experienced those things. Joy is like gratitude,
you have to practice it. If you aren’t experiencing joy in your life, it’s
because you aren’t allowing it to enter into your sphere of consciousness.
Joy might seem like a small, three-letter, insignificant word but
it can bring tremendous feelings of happiness and hope with an infectious
quality. So pay attention to what gives you joy and go do it! Give it! Share
it!
And please, let me know what gives you joy. I’d love to hear from
you.
As ever, and Namaste.
Kathy
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