What Is Joy?
Just Observing YOU, is joy. I know when I am in joy because I feel it all over my body, inside and out. On the inside, there is a tingly, exciting, bursting at the seams feeling that is hard to contain within the body. I feel absolutely alive when I am in joy. Sometimes words seem too trivial to explain such a feeling I have in my body. When I am in joy I AM in a state of being and oneness. I feel in the flow of all of creation and that everything around me is in perfect tandum in the highest good of all of creation. When I am in joy I can feel God smiling as one of his children is at play and that is what I was created for. I am merely playing in the kingdom. When I am in joy, God is cheering YES! YES! YES!
In joy there are no questions, what if’s, if only, woulda, shoulda, coulda, and absolutely no “no’s.” JOY is always YES and accepts and allows all things. JOY welcomes all things into the flow as JOY loves company. JOY loves to play. JOY, like love, is always available is just a choice away.
Playing with JOY can feel awkward at first, especially when living in fear for so long. Fear has begun to feel normal and joy starts to feel unnatural. When, in truth, joy and play in the kingdom is all there is. That is what we are created for. Yet, we masterfully hide joy from ourselves and believe that is an ungettable at times as time travel. Yet both are fully possible and awaiting our openness and welcome.
Since joy is part of the kingdom of heaven then we are already deserving of it and need do nothing to receive it. It awaits upon our welcome. Yet, after living in fear for so long, at times there is a hurdle to living in joy.
Maybe the mind wants to go backwards to past events and ask “why did I choose fear over joy all this time if I was offered both? Why didn’t I see that I was offered both?” At this point, any “why” question is a trick because the ego wants to keep you analyzing joy rather than actually experiencing it fully and forever.
Next the mind may begin to accept that joy is an option but we just don’t know “how” to experience it. The “how” questions are again a trick of the ego except this time projecting into the future. With the “how” questions, one begins to grasp for answers, like grasping for air especially if one feels desperate to feel anything other than fear.
All of these questions about how to receive joy are all tricks of the ego because JOY is available right here and now, if we can just relearn how to recognize it. Don’t worry about the HOW. Be in the NOW.
Perceiving Joy
Ask yourself, if joy is possible? Do you truly feel it is an option for you? Listen for the answer that comes from deep within. Often the ego wants to answer first, like the eager Know-it-all kid in elementary school always waving their hand in the air because they know the answer to every question.
Once you have even the slightest inkling that joy is possible or even if you are the slightest bit curious, begin observing just you and your body. What do you experience inside you when you are in a state of joy? What unique cues is the body giving you? Everyone is different and uses different symbols to quantify what joy means to him or her. The great thing is there are no wrong answers. You just experience what experience. The key is to be aware of what you experience knowing that in each moment you can choose to experience joy or the opposite. And remember, you are already deserving of joy and that suffering is not a prerequisite to joy. You do not suffer in this moment to receive joy the next. JOY is right here, right now. And actually if you want joy in following moments then choose JOY in this moment as you build your future moments on the present moment. So if you think you have to suffer first before joy comes then you will be in the suffering cycle for a while. And you’re free to do that too, of course.
So begin to get intimate with YOU. Get to know what excites you moment to moment. Get to know what makes you come alive. Get to know how JOY becomes manifest within you. Let yourself relearn what it is like to live in joy. Let yourself be worthy of JOY, always.
We have inherited a life of play and joy. We just have chosen to forget that. Allow yourself to remember your key to the kingdom. Allow yourself to be covered in happiness and play. Wear the garb of joy.
Let me repeat, YOU CAN HAVE JOY. YOU CAN HAVE JOY. YOU CAN HAVE JOY. YOU ALREADY HAVE JOY. You do not have to suffer in this life. You can choose joy. Most of society suffers from the erore complex but not those who want to awaken. There is another way and one can live fully in joy. It is merely a choice away.
Playing with Joy
Begin to make that choice by playing with joy. Its like a new car, you have to take it for a spin. I also like to say it is like a buffet. The first plate is usually the test plate to see what works. You go up to the buffet and you just put a little of everything on your plate. You return to your seat and begin to dive in discerning what is going to bring your stomach the most satisfaction during this meal. Remember, this meal, not every meal as everything changes. What brings you joy in this moment may not be what brings you joy in the next. Yes, I can hear the ego say “then why bother if it is going to change? You will just still suffer in figuring it out.” Not true. There is also joy in the trying things out. That too is part of the play. It’s like being a kid again and trying out candy for the first time.
As you keep trying on joy in the buffet of life your discernment gets quicker and better. You can quickly begin to sense when you are choosing joy and when you have chosen the opposite. Again, the body is a great tool for this. If you feel as though you have been slimmed, step away from the suffering. If you feel light, free, and airy, just bathe in it. In time, you will begin to trust yourself more and more and will reclaim what is rightfully yours, your inheritance of the kingdom. Practice. Practice. Practice. Play. Play. Play.
Choosing Joy
In the end, the choice is up to you. That is all part of free will. That is also why practice is so important. You must retrain the mind that once thought that suffering was the only way to establishing a new habit that joy is the way, always. In each moment, check in and see where joy leads you. Be patient with yourself as you enhance this choice. Let yourself experience second guessing, let yourself have an “opps.” You can always choose again.
So, in each moment, ask for joy to guide you? Let go of the wheel and let joy lead you on your journey. Tune in to the guidance that has been waiting for you to listen.
Own JOY. Do not apologize for it. Do not feel guilty about it. Do not hide it. Joy is not in smallness. Let your joy radiate from within. It is God’s calling card giving others the permission to do the same. You are a child of God and have the inheritance of joy. It is rightfully yours and everyone elses. And of others choose not to claim it, that is perfectly fine. You can still be in joy.
Now, walk in joy, live in joy, play in joy. Just by Observing YOU.
Be crazy in love with JOY! In each moment, ask the Spirit where shall we go, what shall we do? Where is joy leading us today?