Joy by Default

Joy is not in things; it is in us. ~ Richard Wagner

One of the most beautiful sounds I can think of is the sound of a baby laughing in delight. (Okay, it's a scary sound if you're at home alone and it's 3 a.m. and you don't have a baby.) My point is, we tumble out of the womb filled with an inner well of peace and happiness that we can access whenever we like. It's ours. It's a part of us, just like our hearts and livers and spleens. We naturally seek and crave joy and know that sharing joy brings people together, helps people love one another more.

When I was 5 years-old, my mom always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "Happy". They told me I didn't understand the assignment and I told them they didn't understand life. ~ John Lennon

We're born with a giant capacity for joy, and then - as with so many other of our natural gifts, like creativity, curiosity and enthusiasm - we're taught to "tame" them and hide them away. We're taught that these gifts are sometimes "bad" and "inappropriate" and should be expressed judiciously or we'll suffer not-so-happy consequences. And as with all gifts, when we stop practicing them, we lose our propensity for them (ask anyone who's had to suffer through my attempts at piano playing lately). Many of us have forgotten that we have a wellspring of joy inside, ready to go. When joy does bubble up, we might spend lot of time judging our right to be happy. And, saddest of all, when we forget that joy is already inside us waiting to be tapped, we go looking for joy outside ourselves, hoping to pin our happiness on someone or something else. If we are healthy and have been allowed - or have learned - to love ourselves, we would choose to delight in all things, whenever possible. Joy is our default. That's where I want to be. I want to work myself back to a place of joy by default.

In the midst of winter, I found there was , within me, an invincible summer.
~ Albert Camus

Here's what I've know about Joy...

• Joy can be found in the most unlikely places.
• Joy is free for the taking, whenever we want it.
• Joy is a motivator, we naturally seek and crave joy.
• Joy brings hope.
• We can be conditioned to judge and feel guilty about our feelings of joy.
• When we are most saturated by joy, we are free from shame and self-judgement and fear and our joy will splash onto others.
• When we're stuck in fear, anger and hate, we want to quash and destroy the joy in others.
• When we can delight and participate in the joy of others, we give ourselves permission to choose joy more often. 

Here's what I need to remember about Joy...

• Joy is my birthright; it's what God intended for me.
• Joy brings energy.
• Joy is empowering; it chases fear and doubt away.
• Joy is contagious.
• Joy is a beautiful, beautiful gift.
• Joy is necessary for both health and love.
• Joy is increased by gratefulness. 
• My own joy, when freely shared, is healing and inspirational for others.
• Joy helps me heal, physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally.

Prescription to myself for Joy:

• Smile whenever I think about it. Smile at others, smile when I'm alone. (I do this naturally, but there are days I find myself with a perpetual frown.)
• Laugh whenever possible. Look for humor in even my darkest moments.
• Look for and delight in blessings wherever I go.
• Go to a park and swing, build fairy gardens with orange juice lakes, do anything I miss doing from my earliest, most joyful childhood. 
• Seek out joyful people and spend plenty of time with them.
• Do something good for others. i.e. Plan a bake sale that will benefit an animal rescue group. (A lot of work involved, but think of the joy!)
• Choose JOY! 
• Allow joy without judging it. 
• Play a lot. 
• Sing loudly. 

We have to choose joy and keep choosing it. ~ Henri J.M. Nouwen

PRAYER FOR JOY

Dear God,

I thank you for the gift of joy. Help me to remember it is Your gift to me and that, as with all other gifts from You, it will grow as I share it with others. Help me allow myself to feel great joy at the even simplest things, and help me to tap into joy even in the midst of hard times. Through Your gift and Your light may I also inspire joy in others, and by experiencing joy extend my thanks for Your many blessings.
Amen

JOY QUOTES

• In today's rush we all think too much, seek too much, want too much - and forget about the joy of just being. ~ Eckhart Tolle
• All the way to heaven is heaven. ~ Catherine of Siena
• Happiness is not what makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy. ~ David Steindl-Rast
• Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. ~ Karl Barth
• A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love. ~ Mother Teresa
• Don't put your happiness on hold by giving it conditions such as "I'll be happy when..." Choose to feel happy now and enjoy the journey. ~ Mario Cortes
• Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain. ~ Joseph Campbell
• It is only in sorry that bad weather masters us; in joy we face the storm and defy it. ~ Amelia Barr