embrace your joy

No matter where we are in our lives, we can choose to embrace the joy within. We can appreciate and savor it. 

Unlike pleasure, joy is not ephemeral. It’s not a fleeting emotion based on the circumstances we’re in, it has nothing to do with the outside world. It’s neither a dopamine spike nor a reaction to the pleasant vista that we see. Its source is within and self-renewing. As Melody Beattie puts it in her book Journey to the Heart, “It [Joy] comes from within your heart like the waterfall that rushes out the side of a mountain. Joy is a runoff from the wellspring within you. And sometimes it is a delightful, surprising contrast to the scenery around you.”

Your joy is a perennial treasure within you. Get in touch with it. Cherish it. Allow yourself to relish it. Even when others have no clue how to access theirs living a mundane and miserable life. Even when others are living a dreary existence, you can have the sparkle in your eyes, like we all used to when we were kids. 

We can be our best and joyous self. We don’t have to be arrogant or disrespect the feelings that the people around us are experiencing. Nor do we have to let their negativity and lack of joy affect our wellbeing and joyful presence.

Our joy is a reward that we give ourselves, when we open our hearts, when we breathe life in our finite time on this planet, when we bring child-like curiosity as we go about the daily grind, when we chase excellence and meaning in our pursuits, and when we lead a life based on our priorities, not others’. 

You’ve worked hard on yourself and you have found the joy within. You’ve earned it and you fully deserve it. It’s your gift to yourself, embrace it and take delight in it.