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Quest for Joy

Marilyn Young

I have been reflecting a lot about “joy” this week. We hear so often from our Spiritual leaders that we are here to experience joy, that we should “live to our highest excitement”, we should follow our passion to experience the joy we are worthy of, etc. I, too, have heard those messages from my Guides and have encouraged others to look for the joy in their life. But speaking with an amazing group of spiritual women this week, I had cause to pause and really examine what joy meant to me. Where did I find joy? How did it feel to me? Most interestingly, how often did I actually feel real joy? How would you answer those questions? I wonder if they would take you on a similar quest for joy and provide you with similar “aha moments.”


Our group began to talk about finding joy in the light of the many challenges each individual had recently been experiencing as well as the difficulty in finding joy against the backdrop of the suffering and chaos we see on a global scale. True to our long-socialized nature, we could all easily list off the things in our lives that we were struggling with. However, with laughter and smiles, this amazing group could also share their triumphs and their new understandings of the lessons they were coming to the back end of.


We talked about being grateful for the people and circumstances that presented us with the opportunities to learn, We spoke about our gratitude for our spiritual team supporting us in our growth. But expressing gratitude to ourselves for simply “showing up in the face of adversity”, or for digging deeper to access the wisdom we all have within was a little scarce. As we looked at gratitude and patting ourselves on the back for a “job well done”, we started to think about how we were feeling about some of these challenges and triumphs. What did it feel like to overcome anxiety, or to let go of responsibility held for others, or to really trust your intuition despite what others are telling you to the contrary? Proud? Relieved? Happy? What about joyful?


As our thoughts turned to ourselves, one very insightful and wise friend said, “You know, I don’t know if I can remember when I last felt joy.” Her frank and honest share really got all of us thinking. Her simple statement brought up so many questions for us. I think we were all feeling we could relate! How did we define joy? What did it feel like to us? What brought us joy? When was the last time we felt it? For me, those questions were not easy to answer!


Being brutally honest with myself, I was initially stumped in recalling the last time I had experienced joy. Then before I knew what I was saying, I shared that I found the heartfelt belly laugh that our conversation had elicited in me just a few moments prior had felt joyful. My next thought rolled off my tongue as well, remembering the beautiful feeling I have in my heart when I cuddle my grandchildren. Then we all started to share what we called “small moments” that brought joy into our lives. We agreed that it was those small moments that were meaningful and that we did not need to wait for some momentous event to experience joy. We did not need to pine for an experience like embracing your true love in a valley of roses with doves flying overhead and a crescendo of celebratory music playing in the background. (Although, that would be ok too!) By the end of the discussion, we had all confidently recounted moments of joy.


Since that discussion, I became curious about the meaning of joy and then my critical ego popped up to question me - maybe what I had experienced wasn’t joy at all? Maybe I was fooling myself and I had experienced “a lesser emotion” as opposed to the elusive heart-filling joy. So… when in doubt… check the dictionary! That was brilliant because it brought me full circle from the growing expectation that joy should be some grandiose, elusive, life altering experience, back to the simple wonderful feeling you have in your heart. That feeling was described as “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness” (Source: Oxford Languages) or “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires”; “source or cause of delight” (Source: Mirriam-Webster Dictionary). I smiled when I read the definitions. Yes, this described my joyful feelings.


Then, thinking about more joyful experiences, my heart started to fill, and more words came

to me making me smile at some of the various descriptions - heartwarming contentment and happiness, "soft" and carefree, my heart so full of happiness it feels as if it is radiating joy for miles. In the end though, I have decided that a solid, static definition doesn’t really matter. What does matter is connecting to your heart and spending time there that feels good and makes you smile. What do you think? How would you describe your joy?


After our discussion, I have also been more mindful about joy. For a while now I have been trying to live more in the moment, but I do slip away from that way too often! When I really focus on the moment, the more I can actually feel that moment as well not just think about it. For me, the easiest moments to “feel” are the times with my grandchildren – the snippets of conversations, the hugs, the surprise facetime calls, the bedtime tuck-ins. It might be because they just naturally carry more joy in their hearts all the time that I am lucky enough to feel it too. Or perhaps when I am with them, I allow myself to feel more, I am more open to feeling and being in my heart. The more I recall these moments of joy, I experience a ripple effect. It prompts me to experience more of the present in joy – to celebrate my children’s successes in joy, to feel gratitude and, why not joy, at positive health outcomes for my loved ones, or to feel joy in a few quiet moments of solitude when I can connect with my Guides and Angels. What about you? When do you have your moments of joy?


This is the year to build our trust in Spirit and our belief in ourselves. So, I was questioning my group this week, each time we build that trust and belief how does it feel? Does it bring us closer to experiencing joy? We acknowledge that we are here at this time, on this planet to learn and grow but we often lose sight of the payoff, the reward. As we continue to face the challenges of releasing what no longer serves us this year, I DO believe that when we open ourselves to trusting in Spirit, we are also allowing joy in. Believing in ourselves and trusting in the Divine removes the barriers and blocks we often place around our heart. With those out of the way, we are inviting joy in. In other words, there is a double bonus to this path of spiritual growth we are on!


So, I am glad I have gone on this little quest this week to find joy. I have to agree with my

friends. We all have joyful moments often; we just weren’t recognizing them. Joy has been right in front of my nose, in fact, all around me, and I just haven’t seen it. I have been too busy focusing on the challenges and not being open to the reward. I realize that however we define joy doesn’t matter because that feeling in your heart has just the right meaning for you. I believe we are here to experience joy. We just need to look around us and let it in. So, I hope this has helped you in your quest for joy. Start right now experiencing your joy. Stop, look around you and find the beauty in your life. Open your heart to allow joy in and revel in it. You are deserving. It is your birthright.


Sending you love and light,

Marilyn

 

Intuitive Counselling and Angel Card Readings

 

If you would like to receive some spiritual guidance specifically for you, I am offering intuitive counselling, angel card readings, and angel numerology readings online or in person (in Calgary).


 

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Photos by M. Young or created with Canva

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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