Joy

Joy in Blue Originally Uploaded by Your Guide


Joy is always something that I can never really put my finger on - yet it is something that I've always longed for. I have always wanted to live a joyous life, but I'm been thinking about what that really means. What constitutes a life full of joy?

Like any good blogger, I did a Google Search on joy and came up with some things:

- Happiness, pleasure or joy is the emotional state of being happy. The definition of happiness is one of the greatest philosophical quandaries. Proposed definitions include freedom from want and distress, consciousness of the good order of things, assurance of one's place in the universe or society, inner peace, and so forth.

- the emotion of great happiness

It's obvious that joy is a complex concept. I think we typically think about joy in small doses. For instance, one finds joy in exercising each day. Someone else finds joy in a nice Italian restaurant. And believe it or not, some people find joy in their work. I find I tend to compartmentalize my joy - I can be happy at certain times because I'm supposed to be happy. Likewise, there are times when I'm not "supposed: to be in a joyful mood. As my good friend Sara would say - Hogwash!

When you start recognizing that each part of your life can indeed by joyful, I think you start to change your perception of the world around you and can find joy in those small or tedious things. As with most things, if we just took the time to look around, we'd find what we were looking for.