Choosing Joy

by Sue Miller

Joy. What is it? According to the dictionary it is: 1) a condition or feeling of high pleasure or delight; happiness; gladness 2) the expression or manifestation of such feeling 3) a source or object of pleasure or satisfaction.

Joy feels like a stream of pure positive energy that pours forth from the center
of our beingness, vibrates throughout us into the universe acting like a magnet that attracts more of the same.

To live joyously is such a gift, not only to the person who lives in the state of joy, but also to everyone this person encounters.

I often have people share their concern that they are not truly happy within themselves nor are they making a positive and powerful difference in the world. People share that they feel they should be doing something important and because they haven’t figured this out yet, they aren’t happy. It is my feeling that the most important thing anyone can do is to create being joyful for no reason—happy not because the internal or external conditions of your life are just right, but joyous just because you decide to be!

Take a moment and ponder the results/benefits of such a decision.

Take a moment and notice the thoughts and feelings that arise when you contemplate making such a decision.

Are all the reasons and excuses you have for not being happy now surfacing?

What do you consider to be a valid reason for choosing not to be happy?

What would your life be like if you decided to be joyful just because you chose to experience the state of beingness called joy.

Why do we think we need a good reason to be happy?

Who made up that rule anyway?

What if we quit making the conditions of our life and life in general the determining factor of our happiness?

What I notice when I am in my joy is that I lose my “self”—that petty, worrying. ego-centered me—you get the idea. And who shows up is present in this now moment, lack of self-consciousness, grace, being in the flow. But don’t take my word for it, find out for yourself—be your own experiment.

Sue Miller, California

return to issue 16.2 | return to Journal archives | top of page

All content copyright 2009, Star’s Edge, Inc. EPC is a service mark of Star's Edge, Inc. Avatar®, ReSurfacing®, Thoughtstorm®, Love Precious Humanity®, Enlightened Planetary Civilization® and Star’s Edge International® are registered trademarks of Star’s Edge, Inc. All rights reserved.