151. JOY
Is joy just another word for happiness? There seems to be a difference, and we will explore that difference in this post. Dictionaries suggest that joy is the emotion evoked by well-being, success, good fortune, or by the prospect of possessing what one desires. In contrast, happiness is more a pleasurable or satisfying experience.
In HuffPost, Zach Dean said this: “I like the word joy because, unlike happiness which feels very fleeting, joy seems to imply a lasting state of contentment that can be built upon and evolve throughout a lifetime. I also think that by referring to joy as a state of being instead of a feeling, it transforms the word, solidifying it somehow, and it becomes a mindset we can hold onto during the swing of feelings we will experience throughout our lives. From this perspective, one can have any number of feelings — happy or sad, engaged or bored, in love or in pain — and still be living joyously.”
In Psychology Today, Sandra Brown said this: “My mother had a lot of joy and I learned from watching her joy. Her pathological man ran off with her life savings forcing her to work well past retirement. It forced her to live simply so [she] moved to a one room beach shack and drove a motorcycle. For cheap entertainment, she walked the beach and painted nudes. She drank cheap grocery store wine that came in a box, bought her clothes from thrift shops, and made beach totes from crocheting plastic grocery bags together. She recycled long before it was hip to do it. But what she recycled most and best was pain … into joy.
“Instead of looking externally for yet another relationship to remove the sting of the last one, or to conquer the boredom she might feel at being alone…she cultivated internal and deep abiding joy. It was both an enigma and a privilege to watch this magnificent life emerge from the ashes of great betrayal.”
On the Compassion website, I found these words to be worth reporting: “Joy is an attitude of the heart and spirit, present inside of us as an untapped reservoir of potential. It’s possible to feel joy in difficult times. Joy doesn’t need a smile in order to exist, although it does feel better with one. Joy can share its space with other emotions — sadness, shame or anger. Happiness can’t. Happiness is not present in darkness and difficulty. Joy never leaves it. Joy undergirds our spirits; it brings to life peace and contentment. Joy requires a connection. Often the connection is with other people, but it can also be with pets, creation, creativity, etc. Joy is present. In the moment. Happiness mostly just passes through. … With joy, there is hope. With joy, hardship offers growth and opportunity. With joy, self-esteem and self-respect are indestructible.”
C. S. Lewis had a lot to say about joy. I conclude this post with quotes from his work which I like:
No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us.
Q: Have you found infinite joy in your life?
