Joy &...
One of the hardest things for us to conceptualize sometimes, is that we can still have joy while we experience negative emotions. When people typically think of joy they tend to think of the bubbling, enthusiastic joy, but joy comes in many forms. Ruth King, a meditation instructor, describes many types of Joy including:
Joy in meaning what you say
Joy from the mundane
Joy from being moved by goodness and truth
Joy from being touched by beauty and nature
Joy from dance, music or artistry
Joy of presence (being seen, being present)
Joy from service
Joy for no good reason
Joy when we delight in the joy of others
Seamlessly, she says there is “a joy that can shine through despair, shine despite the darkness”. That joy is probably the hardest to understand.
there is “a joy that can shine through despair, shine despite the darkness”. That joy is probably the hardest to understand.”
I can hear it now. “How can I have joy when I am _______ (sad, down, lost hope, struggling etc.)?” Humans are complex beings (you might hear me say this a lot lately because I recently had this revelation). We are capable of experiencing more than one emotion at a time. In fact, it is possible to experience vastly different emotions at the same time. One example is experiencing sorrow from losing a loved one, but also feeling joy when you remember they lived life well and you had the honoring of knowing them.
It takes both good and bad times to grow. There are no flowers that can grow without sunshine AND rain. In life, there will be ups and downs. There will also be setbacks, disappointments, and curve balls. These difficulties help strengthen us for what lies ahead, and also allow us to fully appreciate when we experience good times.
When life gets us down we:
1. Have to work to cultivate joy. Sometimes all of the stuff of our life piles on top of our joy and strives to dim our light. We might have to dig our joy out. One way we can do that is by celebrating what we have. Celebrate what is going well in our life. Write it down and watch how big the list gets. We all have so much to be thankful for. The good things may be easy to take for granted or just flat out forget, but it does not mean that they are not there.
2. Should trust God more. I recognize that often when I feel down it is because I have a problem, and have not yet discovered the solution. This can be frustrating, scary and anxiety provoking causing me to focus my attention on the issue at hand. The trick is to redirect your attention to something else. Something that is more positive. I find comfort in remembering what I’ve been through (all of the times I had other problems and they were resolved favorably). I used to actively keep a track record of all God has done for me. The point was to reference it in the difficult times to know He can and will do more for me in the future. We have all survived 100% of our bad days.
Whatever you’re feeling right now is ok. Know that these emotions likely will not last and you can actively work to amplify your joy while you are working your way through.
