It's a child's arms wrapped around your neck in an out-of-the-blue hug. It's throwing back the curtains to see a world blanketed with snow. It's the first glimpse of a loved one safely returning from war. It's the warmth of a lover's hand. It's listening to the rain. It's watching a grandchild graduate from college, it's unexpected, sudden, and overwhelming. It's joy.
Not to be confused with happiness, joy comes in fleeting moments of shiny perfection when the edges between us and others blur. It's a gift, one that comes from someplace deep and divine on its own terms and schedule. "You can't make yourself feel joyful", says Sidney Callahan, author of Created for Joy. "It would be like trying to tickle yourself." While you can't manufacture it, you can cultivate the soil of your own soul so that you are more open to joy.
Joy can burst through any mood, no matter how negative, but it appears most in a climate of happiness.
To increase your happiness quotient, think about what brings you pleasure. Now, make a mental note of those activities that you enjoy. Plan time for those interludes throughout your week just as you would schedule a doctor's appointment. "There's no happiness without action," says Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness and a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside.
(excerpts taken from Better Homes and Gardens - December 2008)
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