CHOOSE JOY

I recently saw a billboard that had the following, (my paraphrase), "Misery has enough company, choose joy." I lit up. How fabulous. What a great message!

From my experience joy already is. In every moment there is a quality of joy and based on our focus and attitude we are either tuning into joy, or not. Joy is not the absence of sorrow, pain, or suffering. Joy is the presence of loving, kindness, peace, and well, joy.

No matter what the outer circumstances, we can find a place of joy.

Now if you are the kind of person who sees the glass half empty and is convinced the other shoe is about to drop my guess is that joy isn't a frequent experience for you.

On the other hand, if you are of the sort who looks for the gifts of learning and growth in adversity, sees the beauty of life itself, and is grateful for the blessings that are, my guess is that joy is an often experienced companion of life.

You can discipline your thoughts and how you speak to yourself and as a result you can experience the joy of learning, the joy of sorrow, as well as the joy of accomplishment and success. And you have learned how to create an environment inside of you that is a fertile ground for joy to exist.

How do we experience more joy? By being joyful! How do you become more joyful? Take charge of where you put your focus.

Example: My back was aching. Focus: The chiropractor is teaching me a more supportive way to sit at my computer and I am learning greater self care.

Example: I have been experiencing some deep fatigue. Focus: I am learning how to pause, rest, take more time for fun!

Example: When I am preparing my taxes I create awesome misery by focusing on the tediousness of the paperwork. OR I can choose to focus on my gratitude for my abundance and good fortune and quality of life.

The only thing that has to be different in life for you to enjoy it is to be in charge of where you put your focus. Start seeing that which is positive right now. As you find them you will naturally feel more joyful.

Start noticing right now. The comfortable couch I am sitting on. The birds chirping in the background. My dog at my feet. My husband cooking dinner. The flowers I picked from the garden on the table next to me.

Joy brings a cycle of JOY which produces more JOY, which produces even more JOY!

The way to create joy is to participate in life joyfully...then every experience can be joy filled and rich. You don't have to do anything differently ... you just have to do what you are doing with JOY. Misery has enough company. Choose joy!

QUOTES

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." 
  ~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for." 
  ~ John Lubbock ~

"There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward." 
  ~ Kahlil Gibran ~

"Pleasure is not the purpose of man's existence. Joy is."
  ~ David O. McKay ~

PRACTICALLY SPEAKING

Begin to observe how you behave when you are joyful:

I am joyful when I _______ 
I am joyful when I think________ 
I am joyful when I feel ________ 
I am joyful when I do _______

Make a list of the things you enjoy doing, things that bring you amusement and pleasure. Look at your list often. Expand it as appropriate ... and make sure you participate in that which you enjoy as often as possible, even if you have to schedule it!

Make a list of the things for which you are grateful. You can list people, places, or things, as well as activities engaged in by yourself or with others. Keep expanding your list. Perhaps there is some concrete action you can take to say thank you, including self- gratitude.

WONDER QUESTION:

Are you willing to CHOOSE JOY?

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Copyright 2007 by Leslie Karen Sann, Living by Design
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leslie@living-bydesign.com

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Copyright 2007 by Leslie Karen Sann,
Living by Design.All rights reserved. 
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