WHY LIVING JOYFULLY
IS SIMPLER THAN YOU
THINK
We all want to be happy. I think we
can pretty much agree on that, right?
Although, I actually wrote an entire
blog post a few weeks ago about how
I don't want to be happy...I want to be
joyful. If you haven't read that yet, go
do that now. Don't worry, I'll wait.
So, now that we cleared up the
difference between happiness
and joy, I'll rephrase my original
statement to "We all want to be
joyful!"
But so often we complicate this idea
and turn it into some mysterious,
mystical state that can only be
achieved by monks and yogis
when the truth is actually quite the
opposite.
Like I talked about in my blog,
joy is not dependent upon your
circumstances, which means you
don't have to wait until you have
more money, your health is better,
you've lost the weight, you've gotten
married, or you had the baby to be
more joyful. You can be joyful NOW.
Even if your "now" consists of
difficulties or what could be
perceived as an unfortunate or
troublesome situation, you can
still experience joy. I should know
because I've been through a few
such situations in my own life. What
I found was that even in the midst of
those unfortunate or troublesome
circumstances, even when things
appeared to be falling apart, I could
still be joyful.
In fact, joyful living really is a lot
simpler than we all make it out to be.
We already established that joyful
living isn't about your circumstances,
so let's talk about what it is about.
01
Gratitude
One of the easiest ways to start living
with more joy is to be grateful for the blessings
that you do have. Too much of our time and
our thoughts are often spent on what we don't
have, what we want, or what we wish we could
get. While all the while, we are missing the
blessings that are right there in front of us.
Even in your darkest days, there is still
something to be grateful for. I know that in
some of my toughest moments, it might be
something as small as a comfortable bed to
sleep in, the fact that I could sleep in when my
adrenals were severely compromised, or that
I have arms and legs that work. Some of those
may seem a little silly at first, but when you
think of them in terms of others who may not
have those blessings in their lives, the value of
them quickly becomes crystal clear.
02
Generosity
If you're struggling to make ends meet
and barely have enough to get by, giving to
others may be the last thing on your mind.
But, when you do reach out to help meet their
needs (despite your own circumstances), the
joy you feel is invaluable.
Several years ago, I was living paycheck to
paycheck with nothing to spare. But I started
serving with a homeless ministry through
some friends of mine. I wasn't able to offer as
much as I would've liked, but I would do what
I could—taking about $20 of supplies with me
like toothbrushes, combs, deodorant, and soaps
that I had bought at the dollar store. I knew that
even though things were tough for me, they
were even tougher for the people on the other
side of those tables. And the sheer amount of
gratitude and joy that they got out of receiving
those simple little items only magnified the joy
that I felt in giving them.