Joy To The World
So what exactly is joy?
It's the holiday season and we always talk about the joy of the season, three simple letters that come with a really big meaning, a meaning that I've struggled to find. I feel happiness all the time. I’m happy that my children are doing well. I'm happy that I’m successful in my job. I'm happy when the scale is one number or a fraction less today than it was yesterday. But what exactly is joy? What brings me joy? What brings you joy?
I read a a devotional that talked about the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is something that we experience. Joy is something we truly feel, that lives inside us. As I look at that, I question what joy is to me. That's a really big question, and I don't necessarily have the answer and that scares me. It scares me because joy is a critical part of living.
I love public speaking. I love sharing my story and translating it into a roadmap to help someone else survive what they're going through or use it to realize they too have Resilience Superpowers - that they’ve already overcome everything they’ve overcome, and can use that same resilience to turn obstacles into opportunities. I do this every day. Does it bring me joy? If I’m being really honest, right now it brings me stress, fear, frustration and anxiety. These are four words that don't even play in the same league as joy, but I believe if we don't experience some of these feelings, do we know what joy really is?
Being an entrepreneur is one of the most difficult things I have ever done. I've showed up for other organizations and businesses that have something to sell. I've been the face and the voice of that product and I have shared the benefits, the features, the what's in it for you. I enjoyed the challenge, but it didn't bring me joy. It brought me money and money solved a problem, brought security. Money fills a need, but it doesn't bring me joy. I've also had the opportunity to help nonprofits raise money, engage volunteers, deliver hope. Helping others did bring me joy, but the day-to-day tasks, the actual work, not so much. I sit here and look at the things that I’ve done with the gifts I've been given and determined that they really don't bring me joy. They bring me financial security, which should bring me joy because it should eliminate stress, anxiety, fear. So what exactly do I do that brings me joy?
Saying this out loud, I had an aha moment! Repeat, “What DO I DO to bring me joy? That DO word just smacked me in the face. What do I do? Maybe it doesn't bring me joy because I'm always trying to DO something that will bring me joy. DO something. I didn't say anything about BEING. It's almost unfathomable to me that just BEING in a situation…BEING with people…BEING quiet…that just BEING could bring joy. This tells me that I'm missing something big in the BEING and I am way too focused on the doing.
Does any of this resonate with you, especially here at the holiday season? It's as if all we do is DO. We need to get the tree. We need to bake the cookies, we need to do the shopping, we need to decorate the house. We need to get the perfect presents. Those are all DO’s. None of them are BE’s.
In reading my devotionals this morning, there was a lot about the coming of Christ and what that means if you are a Christian. If you’re from another faith, the holiday season might mean something different to you. You might have a completely different holiday, but we are all called to BE present in the season, and joy can be found in the reason for that season.
I’m making myself a promise right now. This is not a New Year's resolution. It’s more of a commitment, to spend 15 minutes a day just BEING. I don't know what that looks like yet. Maybe it's sitting in my devotional chair. (Yes, I do have one. We call it the throne, and it's not because I'm a queen. It's because that's where my mom used to sit and she was our queen.) Maybe it's taking a walk and not listening to a podcast. Maybe it’s meditation or prayer. I will start by trying to BE present, to give myself 15 minutes a day to learn how to BE and not DO and pray that JOY surfaces in less doing and more being.
I also believe that in some cases the quieter we are in our mind and body, thoughts invade. Thoughts and feelings that might be the antithesis of joy. It's in some of these heavy, painful or dark thoughts that we have the power to overcome the darkness. That may not happen in 15 minutes, but what if that 15 minutes becomes a gateway, a glimpse of light in the darkness, the light that brings the joy?
I'm hoping through this simple practice we can find that little glimpse of light that helps us to experience joy and SHINE FORWARD. When we shine forward, not only do we open ourselves up to experience JOY, but we can give that same opportunity to others. Isn’t that really what JOY is all about?
