Joy

I was thinking about JOY today. It keeps coming up for me, as I see people full of Joy and some depleted of it. DH and I went on a little weekend trip last weekend and we had the time of our lives.  Just the two of us, hiking, walking, shopping, eating, sleeping, just being together.  I had to leave DH there for work and I came back home.  Every day when we are on the phone at some point DH says, “I wish others could be as happy as us.”

Isn’t that just the sweetest?  It hasn’t always been this way.  It’s been a long hard road.  Not everyone in our lives supported us and that caused a lot of tension for us but we have found our way through it and come on the other side better than ever!

But today as I’ve thought about JOY, which is more than happiness, it’s deeper, I’ve thought about how we got here and wondered how we help others to get here too? 

I was reading in a Light Seekers book and found it talked about it in a few different places, in a few different ways, but one that really struck me, was forgiveness of self. “Forgive yourself for past mistakes and find a fountainhead of healing.”  I think JOY very often follows healing. Sometimes we can find JOY IN the healing.

But that can be so hard.  Sometimes it’s easier to forgive others, than it is to forgive ourselves, but it is a very necessary thing.  It’s how we find love, love of self, and love of others.  As we let ourselves accept and receive that love we can find true joy.

Another way to joy that was mentioned was to look at our relationship with work. Sometimes we get caught up in the material things in life.  I know I do!  I love my stuff!  But do I really need it?  Is it what’s important?  Is it what brings me joy?  Does the quest for material things, for success, keep me from the things that are truly important in life?  We have to find balance.  Work/Life Balance is necessary for us to have the joy in our lives that we deserve and long for. Nothing wrong with success or financial security but if we let it, it can take us away from where we truly want to be. 

Balance in all things.  When things are out of balance, that’s when things begin to go awry.  Finding balance can bring us back to self, to family, to joy. “If you sense an imbalance, it’s time to make amends.”  With self and others too. 

“I have the answers I seek, and by following the truth I will find them.”

We know what we need to do. Sometimes we forget, but our deep inner knowing is there to remind us, we just need to listen.  Slow down a bit, remember what is truly important to you.  Work to bring back that balance in your life, forgive yourself, make amends, and embrace the joy that finds you. 

Actually, it’s always there, just waiting for YOU to find it.  

Until next time… ♥️