EnJOY is a challenge that can become tougher and tougher as
time goes by. For me personally, it’s time to be a little transparent. “En-Joy”
can be interpreted to mean literally “IN JOY” with something or someone.
We live in a time of information overload and the majority
of information that is thrown at us (via all methods of communication) is
heavy/negative/discouraging. I admit that I find it increasingly difficult to
be “In JOY” with other people and situations when the atmosphere that envelopes
me promotes depressing, hypocritical, negative and selfish thoughts/actions.
Now, no alien or unknown supernatural influence is somehow
going to magically make everything better. I know this. But, how cool would it
be for something supernatural to take care of my problems for me. Or, how cool
would it be to just “dig deeper” within myself and find out that I already know
all of life’s answers within myself. Well, those two extreme perspectives of
discovery can be truly based on 100% pure feelings. While emotions are a vital
part of who I am, I cannot find joy from just emotion, regardless of where it
comes from.
Happiness is a result of external influences. Joy comes
from the inside. This is a mysterious concept to contemplate. If joy comes from
the inside/out, then how is joy generated in the first place? How can this inexplicable
confident assurance be created out of nothing? Believe it or not, I deal with
this deep question every day of my life.
As fascinating as it presents itself, the Akashic Records
(if you don’t know what that is, look it up) appears to have all the answers to
everything because every possible answer (past, present and future) already exists and
we just have to discover it somehow. Well, if that were true, then there is no
need or purpose for self-discovery in the first place. It’s almost like we would
exist in the perfect state of absolute nothingness with no need to even think
like an intelligent being. Ok, that makes a lot of non-sense. But some people
believe that we don’t need to search for joy or anything else other than
everything somewhere out there (HUH? – I know, right?).
Ok, this philosophical approach of searching for something
that doesn’t need to be searched for in the first place is a bit nutty, I agree.
So, back to my original thought. Where does Joy come from? In my opinion, I
believe it’s a bit of a paradox. One can actually experience joy (not
happiness) in the midst of pessimism, negativism, sorrow, and even depression.
I will again default back to my belief that if I, as a created being, am
looking for joy, I need go no further than to the one who created me. He has
wired me to have joy in my relationship with Him and others. Joy begins when I
remember, believe, and acknowledge my creator and seek to develop my
relationship with him. And for me, that means that I need to guard myself from
overwhelming influences that hinder my joy and my internal efforts to receive
that joy from Him, which in turn I reveal to others.
I would love to hear
how your search for joy has impacted your life and how you navigate the world’s
pressures in sharing that with others.