Joyful, Joyful

The prompt for day #5: What brings you joy?

The ever elusive joy, sought after, bribed and bought by some, yet really not there. Some go up to mountains of joy and fall into valleys of despair, only to climb another mountain of joy. Others seem to leisurely float through life on a river of joy, where there are no rapids, waterfalls or rain.

Joy, often treated as a noun or possession, in truth joy is a state of being or place. You can leave joy if you chose, or you can learn to be in joy, the choice is yours. There is no map to joy, as joy is individual like the one who is seeking it.

The first thing to do to have joy is to stop. Just like the prompt states “What Brings…you joy?” Joy is brought to you. The only way to have something brought to you, is for you to stop.

The little things bring me joy, birds feeding in my front yard, lambs playing with each other, a bottle baby goat named Spot, a smile on a child’s face, or from someone I have helped. Watching the sunrise and the sunset for no painting ever captures the colors so perfectly. To see these things, I must stop, put what I am doing on “pause”, to see the joy around me. Then push “forward” and go about my day.

There is another item need in order for joy to be brought to you, that is peace. Being anxious or fretful or angry drives joy away. Get peace, the stop so joy can be brought to you.

amtolle