JOY

By: Rev. Gwen Smith

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart…….

Joy one of my favorite states of being. Joy is bubbly, light, uplifting, elevating, bliss… I really like it! (wink).

It comes from deep inside, just like the lyric says, down in my heart, deep in my soul. It is an inherent attribute from the Great Designer of which we are made as. It is a gift. It is a three letter word bursting from within and teeming with energy.

Joy is different than happiness or happy. Mr. Google says “happiness is an emotion in which one experiences feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss and pleasure. Joy is a stronger, less common feeling than happiness. Happiness can be caused by food, an activity, or good company. Joy is the fruit of Spirit”.

Joy is from our soul, our heart; it is visceral. We experience it when we are living aligned with our soul. It is spontaneously brought on as we are being and doing what we are called to do. Or at least that is my experience. And I have experienced through others as well, it is contagious!!!

I love to people watch, see their expressions as they go about their day. I was sitting in my car waiting for my daughter to come out of an appointment and watching all the people walking by on the sidewalk, going about their business. A young girl of maybe three years old caught my eye. She had bouncy curls and was with an adult, holding hands. The look on her face was innocence and wonder, taking everything in as she was lead down the street. Then the adult stopped at a shop and opened the door to go in, first holding it open for the little one to enter. The little girl’s expression changed, her eyes grew bigger, the corners of her mouth started to curve up and then she lit up. And I could literally see this energy moving through her from within and she gave a spontaneous skip, almost a leap, making her curls bounce even more. It was joy moving through her. And then they disappeared into the building.

It is one of those moments in my life that stays with me. It is a moment where I can go and recapture the instant joy I felt watching her and feeling at One with her. This little being affected me deeply with her giddy-up expression of joy.

When joy comes welling up, it flows; it must move; it is our spiritual magnificence. It is our “de—light”. “De” as the prefix meaning from the bottom, our light from the bottom, from deep inside of us: JOY. Find your joy filled life. Delight your soul.

Let me leave you with one of Ernest Holmes’ meditations on Joy, page 530 SOM;

A Song of Joy

There is a Song upon my lips today; it sings of the glad heart and the happy ways of Life.

I will listen to my song, for it carols to me the glad tidings of Great Joy, of Love and Life.

Namaste, Love and Joy always,

Rev Gwen