Unleash Your Joy

Have you ever experienced feeling joy —and then fearing that it was inappropriate?

That happened for me once, during a funeral. You see, there was such a sense of love and connection in the room, that it filled me with joy! And naturally at the same time there was also much grief and sorrow. No wonder it felt plainly wrong to be joyful there. And so, I remained silent and didn’t show my joy at all. It felt like the right thing to do, like the only way to be there. But was it really?

Does withholding our joy help those who are in the midst of suffering?

I don’t think so.

In fact, I recall several situations in my own life where I was feeling utterly hopeless and lost, and in the midst of it I encountered friendly people who were not only joyful but even playful. In those situations, I did not feel that they ignored my pain at all. Rather, I felt that they truly saw how I was feeling, I felt their compassion, but then they gave something more. They lifted me up with their joy.

Even though it wasn’t enough to take away all my pain, it did give me a sense of hope at a time where I only knew hopelessness. And that made all the difference. I started believing that my life would work out after all, even though I didn’t know how exactly. And it did, it truly did!

Why do we withhold our joy?

We do it because we fear that our joy will be judged as inappropriate. That it will look as if we're joyful because of someone’s suffering. But that’s not what joy is about at all.

Joy lives in our hearts. Joy makes us more compassionate, not less! Connecting with others, feeling compassion and feeling joy are all part of our true nature. This is why there’s an impulse not only to feel it, but also to share it.

Also, when we’re in a state of joy, we know that even in the midst of suffering, it’s not all there is to life. Our reality is so much greater than that. Knowing it and feeling it with our compassionate, joyful hearts we can have faith in a better future.

Here’s a wonderful conversation about compassionate joy and why and how joy can unite us, as individuals and as humanity:

This is so easy to forget and so important to remember:

Regardless of our countless differences, we are all born with a good heart, with love and joy.

We see it clearly in newborn babies and in small children —isn’t that why we love being around them? We were like that too, once.

But then along the way, as we were being exposed to our environment and the culture that we’re part of, and as we were encountering the inevitable great challenges of our life’s’ adventures, we forgot some of our true nature. But not forever. There comes a time for us to re-call our true self.

By finding our way back to joy we can find our way back to who we were born to be.

By finding good ways to express our joy freely, regardless of circumstances, we can find our voice and let it be shared in the world.

By expressing our joy in the world we can give others a sense of hope and possibility, even during the most difficult times.

Joy helps us heal, and it helps us find new, creative solutions to even the most difficult problems. For it to happen...

Here’s what we need to cultivate:

Our inner experiences of joy. Find it, feel it, stand by it every day, as much as possible.

The many expressions of joy. Joy has countless expressions, and there is an expression of joy for any situation you may encounter. Trust your good heart in knowing how.

The unifying power of joy. Joy naturally connects us and when you express joy through your voice and presence, you support those around you and ultimately even the world as a whole.

Last but not least, know that you’re not the only one to choose joy! Even though some of your friends and family, neighbors and colleagues may have forgotten their joy, there are more and more people and organizations around the world who realize why joy is important. They make joy their focus.

One such organization is the Joy Keepers Network™. Here, you are welcome no matter where you are on your journey back to joy. We offer inspiration and tools (most of them free), that will help you reconnect with your joyous nature. And there’s also a free, online community of like-minded, compassionate people from around the world where you can express yourself authentically and keep expanding your joy of living.