Joy
“Joy is a force field the devil can’t penetrate.” Andrew Womack
“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls . . . we can do no great things - only small things with great love.” Mother Teresa
Joy is a powerful thing. When you are living your life with joy, we are more able to deal with the difficulties that come along. I find it difficult to imagine being a joyful person without faith and hope. Faith in God. Trusting he is good and that he is with us. If our relationship is not right with him, it is first priority to go to him and make things right. But, beyond that we need to stop seeing our joy and emotions as something beyond us that we have no ability to affect. There are things we can do like taking care of ourselves, paying attention to the words we are saying, and paying attention to the words we are listening to.
Taking care of ourselves can make a big difference in our joy. Exercising, eating well, and getting enough sleep will go along way to making us feel better. When those things are lacking, our body has a way of letting us know we are not doing right. I know that when I don’t eat well, I pay for it by feeling sick afterwards. Have you heard the term “garbage in, garbage out?”
We also need to pay attention to the words we are saying. If all we do is complain and focus on the negative, it is going to affect our mood and the way we think. We also are going to affect the people around us with our negative point of view.
Another thing to pay attention to is the nature of the things we are listening to and reading. Again, “garbage in, garbage out.” Are you just listening to others complain and predict doomsday? That is going to affect your mood as well. Find a way to disconnect from the negative and find positive things to focus on. Maybe spend time with positive people, write a thank you letter, or make a list of things you are grateful for.
I am not saying we should try to be robots or perfect. There are definitely times for sadness and grief. But that should not be our perpetual state of existence. It is worth it for ourselves and for those around us to try to be joyful people.
“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls . . . we can do no great things - only small things with great love.” Mother Teresa
Joy is a powerful thing. When you are living your life with joy, we are more able to deal with the difficulties that come along. I find it difficult to imagine being a joyful person without faith and hope. Faith in God. Trusting he is good and that he is with us. If our relationship is not right with him, it is first priority to go to him and make things right. But, beyond that we need to stop seeing our joy and emotions as something beyond us that we have no ability to affect. There are things we can do like taking care of ourselves, paying attention to the words we are saying, and paying attention to the words we are listening to.
Taking care of ourselves can make a big difference in our joy. Exercising, eating well, and getting enough sleep will go along way to making us feel better. When those things are lacking, our body has a way of letting us know we are not doing right. I know that when I don’t eat well, I pay for it by feeling sick afterwards. Have you heard the term “garbage in, garbage out?”
We also need to pay attention to the words we are saying. If all we do is complain and focus on the negative, it is going to affect our mood and the way we think. We also are going to affect the people around us with our negative point of view.
Another thing to pay attention to is the nature of the things we are listening to and reading. Again, “garbage in, garbage out.” Are you just listening to others complain and predict doomsday? That is going to affect your mood as well. Find a way to disconnect from the negative and find positive things to focus on. Maybe spend time with positive people, write a thank you letter, or make a list of things you are grateful for.
I am not saying we should try to be robots or perfect. There are definitely times for sadness and grief. But that should not be our perpetual state of existence. It is worth it for ourselves and for those around us to try to be joyful people.
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