A Week with Joy. Day 7 – May: I Find Joy

I am a week into my journey of joy! Truthfully I don’t feel any more joyous. I feel content, and proud for being a week into this. But, other than that glimpse on Wednesday, my experiences with joy are seemingly missing.

I have learned a lot about happiness. I read multiple places that happiness is determined over time. Which then, is the difference between being happy and happiness. I could be happy I went to that party, but when I look back on my life, I measure happinesss. In someways that was my understanding of joy. It is a way of living life.

On Friday, I bought a bag a peppermints, as I said I would. In one sitting, I ate half of them. I then breathed in and out slowly, drinking ice cold water enjoying the sensation. It didn’t bring me a feeling of joy. It was enjoyable though to do something calming, something that I like to do but don’t often let myself do. Like the monk said yesterday, first eating peppermints bring pleasure, then 20 minutes after eathing half a bag not so much. Ha!

As much as I’ve learned about happiness, I’ve learned about joy too. Most describe joy as fleeting moments. I saw that this week at dinner. I learned that there are universal experience that many find joyous. I learned that joy is rooted in space, place, and experience.

I wonder how peace fits into joy. Perhaps that is the feeling I’m seeking or misinterperting as joy. Like most of these words I find there to be a lot of overlap.

War aside, peace is a state of quiet or a freedom from upsetting thoughts or feelings. Quiet, that could be a joyous thing.

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