Joy Series - FORGET ABOUT HAPPINESS, SEEK JOY
Looking all around, all you see are people carrying the whole weight of the world on their shoulders. They are giving it their all to survive, it might not have been a choice but we all got the epiphany early enough that it was a necessity. To survive you had to carry it all. Amidst all this jostle, twirls and turns, we forgot how to live. To feel the importance of a moment as one breathes. We forgot to seek joy in the journey as we fought and only focused on reaching the destination.
Through the years we have gotten used to the craved, fleeting, euphoric feeling that we encounter on our good moments during the journey. That feeling you had when you got a promotion at work you had been vying for, got the place for that scholarship you wanted when you got that new car. Pure unadulterated happiness that is what it was. When every brick is falling into place and there is less of hustle in life, we often find ourselves happy. In many cases we are driven by this feeling, we seek for the best things in life to achieve the state of happiness, to experience the savor of the amazing feeling we have an inclination to. It is a rat race and we are all caught in it. The pursuit, the addiction for happiness.
Happiness is often defined as a feeling that overwhelms you when something good happens, an emotional condition of subjective well-being. Probably we should not try too hard to explain it when you feel it, you know it. It is a feeling that has been seen to be dependent on how satisfied you are with your surroundings, with your quality of life, and the circumstances you will be going through at that particular moment. Without happiness our lives would be dull and monotonous, lacking the ecstatic moments. Just grey.
With how happiness seems to be magic, why joy then, one might ask. As much as happiness is a much-needed feeling to create more colorful moments in the final canvas, it does have its shortcomings. It is ironic that the more you pursue happiness, the more likely you are to end up depressed and in lack of it. In seeking happiness, we always try to stretch to the next best thing, the pursuit distracts us from appreciating what is at hand. Happiness is a result of extrinsic factors and forces that will be in play to give us satisfaction. Its origination and source become a problem since most times we find ourselves not in control of these external forces. This means that if you are seeking happiness you are depending on your surroundings and things out of your control to make you feel good. Placing the responsibility of your whole attitude of well-being in someone or something. This automatically makes happiness an inconsistent feeling.
Instead of focusing on that which is fleeting, inconsistent, and dependent on factors beyond us, joy is the key to a better life, better attitude, character, and even health. Unlike happiness, joy is not only a feeling, but it is also a state of self-satisfaction and peace of mind. Joy comes from deep within ourselves. It is neither dependent on your current situation nor your bank balance. It is seeing the beauty in simplicity, appreciating the now. Not dictated by circumstances, joy becomes an anchor to your every other feeling and attitude towards life. It is a product of inner peace that remains intact even in moments when every wall is falling all around you when life is throwing you curveballs the joy will keep on flowing from your core. Happiness often knows no morality, you seek the feel-good factor but with joy, we get to have the high that comes with being happy and yet still have a grounded state of morality and mental well-being.
Joy is not something you wait on so someone can bring it to you, you ought to dig deep into yourself. When you get rid of all the mental turmoil and commotion in your mind, only then are you able to tap into more of a spiritual element, you become one with yourself. Finding ourselves is a huge step in living a joyful life, give yourself time. Be comfortable with being alone because in solace we often get to unveil facets of ourselves that we do not see in the presence of others.
Invest in your mental health. Anything that is getting in the way of your mental health you do not need it. I often find myself stressed if l have a task hanging over my head, once l clear it up l always find myself more peaceful. Being organized and clearing your mind of all decisions yet to be done helps your mind to be at peace. Make that decision, face those problems head-on, avoiding problem areas, and sweeping those feelings of confusion under the rug is the first step to a troubled, shriveled mind which knows no joy.
Throughout history, humanity has been known to have been in a quest for meaning, what it means to be alive, why we are alive. We all need a sense of purpose, our reason for being, once you find your calling fulfillment follows even in the imperfect. You find the passion for living every day as it passes and you begin to find joy in your now rather than waiting for achievements. You find the zeal to live. Gratitude sets ablaze the glow of joy in all of us, be grateful for every minute, savor every experience as it comes by, do not wait for tomorrow just decide to be joyful. Lastly what you focus your mind on is what influences your state of mind, when you focus on all the good things in life you will have more to be grateful for. Joy is a condition of your soul, a position and you are the one to calibrate it, be intentional about it and you will have a joyful life.
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