Joy: A New Perspective
The elements of Beauty, Order, Love & Depth work together to constitute a Joyful life.
I had an epiphany about Joy this week, and I’m excited to share it with you.
Joy is such a prized emotion, commonly understood to be beyond mere Happiness — deeper and richer and truer in some way.
Not based in circumstances, Joy is described as more spiritual in nature and thus can be experienced in difficult seasons of life. Yet it also feels elusive and hard to hold onto at times.
Equally baffling, there does seem to be Joy in our surroundings, our stuff, and our experiences.
So, do we find Joy in the unseen world or in the seen world?
Is there one sort of Joy that is truer and better?
Consider another perplexing specimen of study: Light.
Light is a particle.
Light is a wave.
Light is neither alone.
Light is both together.
Joy, too, is something more mysterious and wondrous than a simple definition, model, or explanation can convey.
There is a spectrum of light. Might there be a spectrum of Joy as well? Components of Joy we can identify, even as other aspects of Joy remain a mystery?
We are physical and spiritual beings. Is it any wonder the Joy we feel should be sourced in both realms as well?
Joy operates in both the physical and the spiritual,
just as we do.
Joy is neither alone.
Joy is both together.
If you’re a reader (or a listener of audiobooks) I recommend the following books on Joy:
Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee
Defiant Joy: Taking Hold of Hope, Beauty, And Life In A Hurting World by Stasi Eldredge
Ingrid’s book examines themes behind various physical sources of Joy. Stasi’s book explores unshakeable, invisible, spiritual sources of Joy. Both outlooks on Joy are true and needed.
(And both books discuss the overlap and interweaving of these sources, even as they focus on one.)
Do you tend to think of Joy flowing
from the physical or the spiritual?
I’m challenging myself, and you, to explore the concept of Joy from a new vantage point.
Consider Joy
neither as purely spiritual, nor purely physical,
but more mysterious & multifaceted
than we have previously believed.
Expand your concept of Joy and embrace the complexity of its nature and sources.
A BOLD Joyful Life is one lived to the full — in both the physical and spiritual worlds.
Tell me:
What brings you Joy?
