June 4, 2007
-
What is the place of Joy in human society? Is it really important? How can it best be obtained?
This is a Socrates Cafe Post. The title is too long for me to be able to note that in the title.
I could not resist tackling this question! I think that joy is very important. In fact, studies have shown that the quality most associated with longevity is the ability to adjust and to form new relationships. To me, joy would play a role in those abilities. Without joy, we tend to look at what we do not have rather than rejoicing in what we do have. In turn, focusing on what is lacking prevents us from successfully adjusting to our current situation, and few people want to form relationships with a Gloomy Gus.
So, what is joy? I think it is the quality of looking around and seeing how really wonderful the world is. I am not sure that anyone can do that all of the time, although I know people who come close. The more a person practices joy, though, the happier that person will be and the happier the people around him/her will be. Joy is contagious. Really joyful people make everyone around them feel good. They are a pleasure to know and people seek their companionship. They are a gift to the world.
Real joy makes it impossible to hate, to be jealous, to have any of those very negative, damaging emotions. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we all practiced the art of joy? It is an art, you know. Being joyful is something we can decide to be. It takes practice and determination, but I think anyone can learn to be joyful.
How do we learn to be joyful? Sometimes, making a list can be helpful. If we begin each day writing down a specific number of things about which we can be grateful and which bring us joy and not ever allowing the list to be shorter than the required number of items even on a very difficult day, we will begin to focus on those things in which we find joy rather than on the things that are not going well. Positive affirmations are a related skill. Just saying out loud to ourselves frequently “I am happy. I am full of joy” will help us begin to feel more joyful. Learning to say to others “I am so happy about _________ !” or “_________ brings me so much joy!” rather than making our conversation an endless litany of our problems can help. The statements must be sincere, though.
Another technique for becoming more joyful is to smile more often. Wearing a smile is a sure way to begin to feel like smiling. It’s a proven fact that our inner emotions will mirror the emotions we display outwardly.
I don’t think being joyful means that we ignore problems or fail to acknowledge sadness. In my opinion, that would not be healthy. We need to experience the complete range of human feeling and to share those feelings with the appropriate people. We also need to recognize the trauma in the lives of those around us and be appropriately sympathetic and understanding. A joyful person, though, moves on and adjusts. A joyful person’s general focus is positive.
So what is the place of joy and is it important? Joy helps us to live our lives to the fullest and to help others to do the same. I think that’s rather important, don’t you?
Comments (11)
Hey! Great post. The world certainly needs more Joy.
Pretty hard to argue against joy. I wrote a small manual entitled “Joy At Work.” Link on my site if you are interested.
It seems to me that watching young children can give you insight into true joy. It seems sometimes to be a faculty which we lose as we “Mature”; perhaps because we are no longer as single-minded in seizing the moment of happiness.
Focusing on an experience or situation which pleases you is of course one way to begin to recapture the feeling of joy – the trick is to simultaneously depress the anxiety we too often face.
Dick, I agree that our anxieties can interfer with being joyful. I know that I am not joyful all the time. I am not joyful nearly as much as I would like to be. It’s something for which to strive. Do you think that supressing anxiety is a good thing, though?
How would you inspire joy in a country at war or a country stricken by poverty?
Zeal, you know, some of the most joyful people I have known have been very, very poor. Some of the least joyful have also been wealthy. I do not think that wealth or its lack really contribute to joy. Joy is a positive state of mind.
Beautifully said… I would have to agree a lot with this.
Joy is what I feel when I see a newborn! Lately I stopped to admire a newborne and asked the mother how old it was. She replied, “One week.” and I thrilled. I told her that the baby is brand new!!!!! I got goosebumps!
Joy can be infectious. But it can be tough to be around someone who never seems to have it. We tend to gravitate to people who are joyful, because they help us to feel better. There is one in-law that I really don’t care to be around because she makes me feel depressed. Another in-law is just the opposite. Even though she has problems, as we all do, she just exudes joy. Such a pleasure to be around her. Just wished she lived closer.
great post have a nice day
“It is an art ….” Hummm. I hadn’t thought of that. I think I’ll meditate on the thought for a while.