Curious about Joy: Are You Filled with Joy? What Constitutes a Joyful Life for You?

Definition of 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. To rejoice; to be glad; to delight; to exult. To gladden; to make joyful; to exhilarate.

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” – Buddha, Indian leader

I have been teaching a senior Yoga stretch class for two years. When I started – and also took the specialized training – I was not a Yogi and hadn’t even taken more than one Yoga class in my years of working out and teaching group fitness. Honestly, I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy teaching it.

Surprisingly for me, I fell in love with every part of it and the wonderful way I feel because of the benefits. And, there are many including improved flexibility; awareness of the body and mind connection; increased strength, suppleness, and stamina; enhancement of balance, posture, agility, grace, and digestion; and improved breathing leading to clarity, stillness of mind, and concentration. Besides the calmness and reduced anxiety, I experience an overwhelming joy while practicing the various postures.

I am basically a joyful person living a joyful life, and that is why I chose joy for this blog’s theme. Happily, I found a plethora of wonderful quotations that should make your day and days to come.

Here are a few:

• “When work is a pleasure, life is a joy! When work is a duty, life is slavery.” - Maxim Gorky, Russian novelist
• “Part of the joy of looking at art is getting in sync in some ways with the decision-making process that the artist used and the record that's embedded in the work.” - Chuck Close, American artist
• “There are some people who have the quality of richness and joy in them and they communicate it to everything they touch. It is first of all a physical quality; then it is a quality of the spirit.” - Tom Wolfe, American journalist
• “The joy of the mind is the measure of its strength.” - Ninon de Lenclos, French celebrity
• “I don't really care how I am remembered as long as I bring happiness and joy to people.” - Eddie Albert, American actor
• “I want to thank all the women who have worn my clothes, the famous and the unknown, who have been so faithful to me and given me so much joy.” - Yves Saint Laurent, French designer

And some more for their uplifting and joyous qualities:

• “When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.” – Tecumseh, American leader
• “True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French novelist
• “Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.” - Marianne Williamson, American author
• “Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian
• “There's a great joy in my giving. It's thrilling. It's exhilarating. It's important to be a part of sharing. It is my love. It is my joy.” - W. Clement Stone, American businessman
• “There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere and of leaving it behind them when they go.” - Jean Paul, German author

This theme really made my day. I do hope it did for you, too. Remember to live with joy. And, do reread the wonderful and uplifting quotations!