You Are The Joy You Enjoy
Close Your Eyes And Recall Joy.
Sometimes I’ll sit there and close my eyes and remember all the amazing times in my life that brought me pure joy. It might be the day I proposed to my wife, the day we got married, the day we had our daughter, or even something more individualized like the day that I graduated law school or when I logged in to the State Bar website at the specific minute results were posted to see if I passed the bar exam.
It’s crazy because when I do this I can well up inside of me this strong powerful sense of joy that will literally bring tears to my eyes. And I will feel this pure and raw energy of love and happiness and ecstasy. When I think about those moments and I reminisce it provokes me to realize that what I am remembering is not a memory of past joy that exists in some alternate timeline or universe.
Bare With Me Here.
The moments when all that joy was created, although the moments themselves may have passed, the reality is that joy never left. It is a part of me, it’s very much a piece of who I am right now. It may be stowed away, but it’s me and it’s mine. Ultimately, all the joy that we have created, the joy we have felt in the moment or upon recollection throughout our lives is ours. It’s right there, available to us. We can recall this joy and bring it right to the surface of our emotional state.
Be Your Joy.
I’ve taken it upon myself in my life through a practice of gratitude to recall all those joyful moments. To conjure up all that joy. I’ve also made an effort to identify and note internally (and at times on paper/phone/etc.) all the moments of joy that I experience and are created within me. Ultimately my goal would be to exist in a constant state of joy. But I have not reached that level of enlightenment (yet). There are so many aspects of my life and of my individuality that I still need to work on to be able to move past the distractions that impact the sought-after eternal state of joy. I do remind myself that this is work that I continue to do, and it is well worth it.
Enjoy The Ecstasy You Are.
I don’t just mean this as some form of “think happy thoughts“ type of advice. As we go through life we are distracted by the trivial nature of our pursuits. Maybe it’s our work, maybe it’s our fitness goals. Maybe it’s our relationships and the little things we want to do to improve. The reality is that all of these things can feel trivial and can distract us from the pure essence of the joy we all seek to feel. We’re all in a constant pursuit of joy. So we should use the joy we have to create more of it. We have this within us, and it’s available to us whenever we want it.
Pain and suffering and stress and anger are all antithetical to that joy that you have inside of you. By recalling, and by experiencing and bringing to the surface within you all of the joy that you have created and stored in your soul will make all of your negative attitudes and trivial distractions seem meaningless. Your joy will allow you to enjoy every waking moment of whatever it is that you’re doing. I’m not saying life doesn’t suck, because it totally can. But everything is better when you feel joy. And that joy is yours to take advantage of because it is you. You created it, you have stored it within you. And you can call upon it to be whoever you want to be and to use as your secret ingredient to living a resilient and joyful life.
