What Have You Learned About Joy?

Today’s issue is #3 is a three-part series and is a follow-up to: A Good Day

A Necessity, Not a Luxury

Whatever makes you happy. Depending on the context, that phrase can sound trite, if not sarcastic. It seems on some level, we think happiness is a luxury that dare not be entertained in a world with so many problems. Yet now more than ever, I believe that happiness and joy are essential to our lives. Borrowing a line from a Maya Angelou quotation, “We need joy as we need air.”

It’s Everywhere

“Isn’t it something, how joy is everywhere?” That’s what my client, Jessica¹, said earlier this year, in a way that was more of a statement than a question. But I had a question for Jessica: What made it possible for her to be able to see that joy is everywhere? Her answer: “I thought joy was something you experienced once in a while vs. all the time. I don’t think you know joy until you have sorrow. And I went through so much sorrow.”

The sorrow Jessica referenced was watching her husband suffer from an illness and eventually pass away. Though she notes the correlation between sorrow and joy, her perspective has been altered. “I told God… I’m not asking for sorrow just so I can have joy.” Jessica says she now recognizes and feels grateful to know that joy is there for her every morning. The result of her expecting joy is that she is receiving joy more often.

What Have You Learned About Joy?

When I answer this question for myself, I’d say I’ve learned that joy is a great informer because what you enjoy tells you something about what makes you unique. That’s valuable information to comprehend, in both the personal and professional realm. I’ve come to see joy as something you can access any time, anywhere. Though it can go unnoticed, it is always there, waiting for us to invite it in.

What have you learned about joy?

This Week’s Call To Action:

• Life doesn’t have to be perfect to experience joy. My Aunt Rose comes to mind, as a model of someone who lived through many hardships, yet seemed to emanate joy so naturally. Do you know an Aunt Rose? What has that person taught you about joy?
• Joy cuts a path through difficulty. Next time you’re weighed down by something, ask yourself: What would add some joy here? I guarantee you’ll get an answer.

“All our lives we think happiness is a destination,
only to look back and realize that it was the way.”
–Robert Brault

Notes:
¹Name changed for privacy.