Curious about Being Joyous and Pursuing a Life Filled with Joy

Definitions: Joyous - Glad; gay; merry; joyful; also, affording or inspiring joy; with of before the word or words expressing the cause of joy.

Joy - The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good; pleasurable feelings or emotions caused by success, good fortune, and the like, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire; gladness; exhilaration of spirits; delight.

I belong to a group of delightful, bright and action oriented woman. We shared a conference call this past week to discuss our goals, intentions and aspirations – especially for 2008. One in the group declared that her main focus for this year would be “joy.” She feels that she hasn’t been experiencing enough.

Yes, as a free agent, I know that I can get spread out and overwhelmed with all my businesses and tasks. And, that is when it is easy to lose sight of joy and my joyous existence. The following two quotations, however, sum up how I feel about the productive work my days involve:

“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt, American President

“Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you happy, satisfied, even joyous. That has more of an effect on economic well-being than any other single factor.” - Paul Hawken, American environmentalist

Then, there are many other uplifting quotations that brought more joy into my life:

• “To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth.” - Pearl S. Buck, American novelist
• “If we wish our nature to be free and joyous, we should bring our activities into same order.” - Vinoba Bhave, Indian educator
• “A laugh, to be joyous, must flow from a joyous heart, for without kindness, there can be no true joy.” - Thomas Carlyle, Scottish philosopher
• “Success soon palls. The joyous time is when the breeze first strikes your sails, and the waters rustle under your bows.” - Charles Buxton, English public servant
• “The best way of removing negativity is to laugh and be joyous.” - David Icke, English athlete

A few more:

• “Joy is not in things; it is in us.” - Richard Wagner, German composer
• “Dance is so joyous.” - Graeme Murphy, Australian dancer
• “All who joy would win must share it. Happiness was born a Twin.” - Lord Byron, British poet
• “The closing of a door can bring blessed privacy and comfort - the opening, terror. Conversely, the closing of a door can be a sad and final thing - the opening a wonderfully joyous moment.” - Andy Rooney, American journalist
• “There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.” - Henry Ford, American businessman

How joyous are you? What would fill your life with even more joy than you have now? I will leave you with the following quotation to ponder:

“The joy that isn't shared dies young.” - Anne Sexton, American poet