There is More Joy in Giving Than Receiving

Posted by admin in Helpful Articles

Apr
16

My cat, JOY snuggled up next to me in my bed as I settled down to take a mid-afternoon nap. I felt joy in my heart. Joy is a deep feeling of contentment within and it is at the core of everyone. It is the peaceful and serene center of Being from which we create every moment as a celebration of love, harmony and fulfillment.

When I am in the present moment, I feel joy – a carefree feeling and knowingness that all is well on the spiritual level. It is difficult to be in the present moment when my mind jumps to the future or the past, therefore missing the joy that it holds. When I am centered in the moment, I am grateful, calm, peaceful and protected.

There are so many things that bring me joy; holding a newborn baby, watching children play, planting flowers in my garden, dancing, sitting at the ocean watching the waves go in and out, spending time with family and friends, helping someone in need, being loved unconditionally, taking time for prayer and meditation.

How do we lose our joy or give it away? It is a choice. We are responsible for our own happiness and joy. We lose our joy when we:

Compare ourselves to others
Complain and blame others for our problems
Beat up on ourselves and don’t feel good enough
Do not trust a power greater than ourselves to help us
See ourselves as victims and have a “poor me” mentality
Hold onto resentment and are unable to forgive ourselves or others
Believe there is lack and scarcity
Obsess and worry about the future or the past
Try to please everyone at the expense of ourselves
Focus on what’s missing rather than be grateful now

Where does joy come from? I believe it comes from within. When we are connected to our Source, the God within, we experience joy. When we are connected to others, serving others, we experience joy. When we give, without any expectations in return we experience joy.

Most recently, I experienced joy when I “got out of my own way” and reached out to another who was in need. My two sons and grandchildren live out of state. My parents are both deceased and I don’t have any siblings or family in the area. I felt lonely and felt sorry for myself on Easter Sunday. As I was driving home from my friend Carol’s house, I decided to buy a plant for a woman in a nursing home that I had just met at Christmas. Mary told me that she was all alone and didn’t have any friends or relatives in the area. She had a stroke a year ago that paralyzed her and she couldn’t walk anymore.

This is a taken from a chapter in Simply a Woman of Faith