Creating and Experiencing Joy

By Yoga Kat aka Katheryn Hoban

Let’s speak about joy. It is something that shines out of every pore in your being. It bubbles up out of your heart and your mind. Its energy is soft, light and clear. Joy is very transforming. You don’t need a lot of anything to be joyful. People in the poorest of circumstances can be filled with joy. One can choose to be joyful. It is a choice that can made every day.

Joy can also be a tool of guidance. If we can be led by what makes us joyful, we can begin doing more of the things that will bring us a fulfilled life. Just follow the joy.

Somehow we have been told in the past that we are not meant to enjoy life, and that it must be drudgery and hard work. I didn’t enjoy my life much in the past, but I began to transform misery into joy. I gave myself permission to laugh and enjoy my life. I began to ask myself, “What do I really love to do?!” and I started doing more of these things. Even if it was something very small, it was a beginning. Now, I often feel a tremendous amount of joy.

There is an exercise that I suggest that can transform whatever mood you find yourself in to one of joy. It is to list ten things right in the moment that make you joyful. They can be very simple things to list: that you found a seat on the train, that you are going to your favorite place, that you are meeting your favorite friend, or that you have this moment alone; that you see a child playing, that you see a little dog and his little tail is wagging enthusiastically, or that you hear a beautiful song; that you are in love, or that there is something special happening, that it is a sunny day, that you have ten toes, and ten fingers; that a stranger standing across from you is wearing a fantastic color, or you are wearing your favorite color, or perhaps you remember a day at the beach and the sound of the ocean.

You can add anything you want to your joy list. Your list will change moment by moment. And you can keep it very private if you like. The point is to do it in the moment, and you can add an affirmation for yourself: “I’m happy right now because that person is wearing blue today.” or, “I can be joyful because that silly little dog is wagging his little tail.”

I find many things to be joyful about during the day, and you can too. Look around you to find what can prompt you to be joyful. Do it. Make a choice to be joyful. Make a choice to embrace the moment, to enjoy the moment. ‘Enjoy’ is a word that to me that means to join with joy. So if you en-joy someone or something, you are joining to them for that moment with joy. To enjoy life is to join with life with joy. To enjoy soccer game is to join the game and the fun with joy. To enjoy moment by-moment the life that you are building is to join to each moment that you find yourself in with joy. Fun, isn’t it!!

You can create joyful moments and carry these with you wherever you go. When you meet someone, let your joy really flow to her/him. Enjoy the meeting, enjoy the discussions, enjoy the food, enjoy the touches, and the show of affections. Joy is something to be shared and savored. When your pool of joy is filled up, empty it all out in another moment and for another encounter. Enjoy animals. Enjoy people. Enjoy your life moment by moment. Add new things and new moments to your changing joy list.

If something happened that was very unpleasant, and you just don’t want to remember it, then your joy might be remembered when you left or as you were leaving. Or that it is now finished and you never have to go through it again. Joy, that you were strong enough to go through it, or that you knew Jesus, or your guardian angel never left you in that moment. Or Joy that you are now free. We can be incredible instruments of joy for someone else. Open to each person, and choose joy.

Enhance the joy that is already there and let it flow out. Call it forth.

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