Finding Joy...Part 2

Apparently finding JOY is on my mind lately. In our crazy society, with all the unending stress, it would seem to me that the pursuit of joy is a pretty frequent activity for most of us- just as a matter of survival.  My last blog was on that topic and I still am immersed in a fair amount of stress with the selling of our home and the move to a new home. Granted, it's all very exciting, however, the stress sometimes robs the joy from our life. That's why I am trying to look at the proverbial silver lining and stop having the "What Ifs" from taking over my consciousness. As they say, one day at a time.....I have tried to stop worrying about "What If" they don't complete the house by the deadline? "What if" we have a blizzard on moving day? "What If" my husband or myself gets hurt or sick before the move? Well...you get the idea: I could go on and on and my mind frequently does that crazy dance.

So to help quiet those thoughts in my mind and bring back the JOY, I have been doing a combination of things...but it boils down to three main things: Praying, Journaling and Blogging. All of these things work beautifully to restore and maintain my sanity. Sometimes it's hard to find the time to Journal or Blogg, but the awesome thing about prayer is I can do it any time, anywhere and I know God is listening. Very good to know that. God has helped me out of more than one "sticky" situation, and always manages to help me climb out of a deep barrel.

I was also thinking that JOY is not just the absence of pain, it goes beyond that and paves the way for true Happiness. Perhaps all this discussion is just a matter of semantics, but it seems to be the absence of pain, emotional or physical, is COMFORT  not JOY. Comfort is a good thing, no denying there. Think of the wonderful Christmas carol: Tidings of Comfort and Joy. A wonderful blessing. Yet, there is an inner peace that comes with true joy. So how does one find that? Just like Thoreau said: "Happiness is like a Butterfly...the more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder." Henry David Thoreau

Sometimes I think I should have majored in Philosophy instead of Journalism...Yikes my brain hurts. In any case, need to take a break from all this "joy seeking" and pack another box for the big move. Thanks for listening.