Pondering the Questions
Recently during my daily ritual to begin my day in communion with God, I asked Spirit two important questions. First, to clarify for me the difference between being happy and having joy. Second, I asked Spirit to reveal to me the things in my life that make me genuinely happy and brings me true joy. As I began pondering these questions during my morning meditation time, I heard the following responses from my inner voice of the Super conscious or Higher-Self, where infinite wisdom within us resides.
Discovering the Answers
Once I presented my questions to Infinite Holy Spirit (God), the answers came to me effortlessly. The first thing I heard in regard to my question on the difference between happiness and joy, is that you can experience happiness and still not have joy. Yet, you cannot have true joy without also experiencing with it genuine happiness. The difference is that happiness is temporary. It is motivated by an outer source that usually comes as fleeting moments of feeling good in direct response to a particular situation or action of or in relationship with another person. However, once the situation changes, the relationship is over and/or the person is no longer a part of your life, all those wonderful feelings of happiness suddenly disappear as well like blowing kisses in the wind.
In contrast, true joy is sustaining. It is unaffected by the inconsistency of actions and behaviors of another person or the constant changes of outer circumstances. This is because unlike happiness, joy is not dependent upon or evoked by any source outside of us. To the contrary, the source of true joy comes from within the heart & soul of every person respectively. It is found in the things that give us deep inner fulfillment. It is expressed through the unique things we individually love to do that is our creative self-expression (i.e. God's individualized expression through you...as you).
Things that bring me joy
For example, some of the things that bring me true joy and deep inner fulfillment are, cooking, creative writing (i.e using my talent for write poetry and articles such as this), music, and being a new mommy, just to name a few.
I love to cook rather I'm single or in a relationship. I'm very focused when I'm cooking. I find it very therapeutic and I pour my heart & love into every meal I prepare. The feeling it gives me is like an artist painting a beautiful masterpiece on a canvas. It is a form of creative expression for me. I enjoy sharing my cooking with others. Yet I find equal pleasure in eating my cooking if I have no one around to share it with just the same.
The joy and inner fulfillment I get from writing is also a form of creative self-expression for me that I love sharing with other. Writing gives me a deep sense of clarity and emotional freedom. In between each poetic word, sentence and verse eloquently strung together to form a complete thought as a profound message or idea, is the freedom to be my authentic self.
More simply put...writing purifies me. It lifts me up into the realms of the higher consciousness. It allows me to cleanse all the impurities picked up along my human experience and become centered in Spirit. I enjoy most using my gift of creative writing to help others find that same inner awareness which is why I created this Inspirational Love Notes blog.
As for music, I find immense joy from listening to various genres of it. Like my writing, I also enjoy inspiring others through music. I truly believe in the healing power and universal language of love with which we can communicate through music. Hence, the reason for my career background over the last decade in radio and why I created my own radio show Love Notes, in the process of conversion to a podcast show.
When it comes to being a new mommy, I absolutely enjoy my baby girl Khaliah. In fact, I enjoy watching her grow and helping with her development each day so much that even though I'm exhausted at the end of the day I still find it all worth while. I go to sleep each night completely taxed of my energy. Yet I feel peaceful and fulfilled from knowing my efforts made a major impact on her life. Going to bed each night knowing that spending quality time teaching her, playing with her, loving on her, reveling in the beauty and miracle of her, is having a major influence on the person she becomes, is a total mind blowing joy-filled blessing within itself.
The Revelation and Miracle
In closing, while meditating on the difference between joy and happiness I was compelled to take a closer look at the word, "Enjoy". In doing so I began to see the break down of this word in a different way. I began to see it as, "In-Joy". In other words, to say, I enjoy something, is really saying I receive or have, "Inner-Joy" when engaging in that particular activity. Moreover, true joy is inner joy...joy that comes from within leaving lasting feelings of deep inner fulfillment.
The miracle is that when you engage in the things that bring inner joy you also discover genuine happiness along with it. This is because the source of this kind of happiness comes only from within your own heart and soul, where our true power resides rather than an outer situation, person or circumstance. Ironically, by spending more time engaging only in those things or spending time with only the persons that bring you genuine inner joy, and less time on the things or with people who don't, you miraculously begin to have more time available to do those things.
Suddenly increased money begins to attract to you to invest in or support your desire to continue doing those joy-filled activities. Strangely, we find ourselves having more energy to contribute to spending quality time with the people with which we have a genuine affinity or doing those activities that bring us joy. Every area of our lives become infected by the positive changes and new attitude living a joy-filled life brings us. Instead of being affected by the negative energy and feelings of depression that result from chasing happiness through validation of sources in the world outside ourselves.
This is what Jesus meant in John 15:11 when he said, "I have spoken these things to you that MY JOY may be IN YOU and that YOUR JOY may be FULL." (i.e. Joy that is Complete).
With that said, I leave you with this video, that's both a classic and timeless 1986 song by R&B Artist, Anita Baker, as the perfect compliment to the message of this article. Listen to it not from the perspective of a romantic relationship love song. Instead, try listening to it in terms of your immensely profound love for the things you genuinely enjoy doing or the person (s) you enjoy spending time with (including yourself). Reflect on the deep inner feelings of "full-fillment" you receive from spending time with those people or activities as you listen to the hypnotic soulful voice of Anita Baker sing, "You Bring Me Joy." Then go do something that really awakens the Joy-Full Happiness in you.
Until next time, I surround you in Love & Light...
A One Love Production
By Anna Ms.Poet Hendricks
copyright 2012
Recently during my daily ritual to begin my day in communion with God, I asked Spirit two important questions. First, to clarify for me the difference between being happy and having joy. Second, I asked Spirit to reveal to me the things in my life that make me genuinely happy and brings me true joy. As I began pondering these questions during my morning meditation time, I heard the following responses from my inner voice of the Super conscious or Higher-Self, where infinite wisdom within us resides.
Discovering the Answers
Once I presented my questions to Infinite Holy Spirit (God), the answers came to me effortlessly. The first thing I heard in regard to my question on the difference between happiness and joy, is that you can experience happiness and still not have joy. Yet, you cannot have true joy without also experiencing with it genuine happiness. The difference is that happiness is temporary. It is motivated by an outer source that usually comes as fleeting moments of feeling good in direct response to a particular situation or action of or in relationship with another person. However, once the situation changes, the relationship is over and/or the person is no longer a part of your life, all those wonderful feelings of happiness suddenly disappear as well like blowing kisses in the wind.
In contrast, true joy is sustaining. It is unaffected by the inconsistency of actions and behaviors of another person or the constant changes of outer circumstances. This is because unlike happiness, joy is not dependent upon or evoked by any source outside of us. To the contrary, the source of true joy comes from within the heart & soul of every person respectively. It is found in the things that give us deep inner fulfillment. It is expressed through the unique things we individually love to do that is our creative self-expression (i.e. God's individualized expression through you...as you).
Things that bring me joy
For example, some of the things that bring me true joy and deep inner fulfillment are, cooking, creative writing (i.e using my talent for write poetry and articles such as this), music, and being a new mommy, just to name a few.
I love to cook rather I'm single or in a relationship. I'm very focused when I'm cooking. I find it very therapeutic and I pour my heart & love into every meal I prepare. The feeling it gives me is like an artist painting a beautiful masterpiece on a canvas. It is a form of creative expression for me. I enjoy sharing my cooking with others. Yet I find equal pleasure in eating my cooking if I have no one around to share it with just the same.
The joy and inner fulfillment I get from writing is also a form of creative self-expression for me that I love sharing with other. Writing gives me a deep sense of clarity and emotional freedom. In between each poetic word, sentence and verse eloquently strung together to form a complete thought as a profound message or idea, is the freedom to be my authentic self.
More simply put...writing purifies me. It lifts me up into the realms of the higher consciousness. It allows me to cleanse all the impurities picked up along my human experience and become centered in Spirit. I enjoy most using my gift of creative writing to help others find that same inner awareness which is why I created this Inspirational Love Notes blog.
As for music, I find immense joy from listening to various genres of it. Like my writing, I also enjoy inspiring others through music. I truly believe in the healing power and universal language of love with which we can communicate through music. Hence, the reason for my career background over the last decade in radio and why I created my own radio show Love Notes, in the process of conversion to a podcast show.
When it comes to being a new mommy, I absolutely enjoy my baby girl Khaliah. In fact, I enjoy watching her grow and helping with her development each day so much that even though I'm exhausted at the end of the day I still find it all worth while. I go to sleep each night completely taxed of my energy. Yet I feel peaceful and fulfilled from knowing my efforts made a major impact on her life. Going to bed each night knowing that spending quality time teaching her, playing with her, loving on her, reveling in the beauty and miracle of her, is having a major influence on the person she becomes, is a total mind blowing joy-filled blessing within itself.
The Revelation and Miracle
In closing, while meditating on the difference between joy and happiness I was compelled to take a closer look at the word, "Enjoy". In doing so I began to see the break down of this word in a different way. I began to see it as, "In-Joy". In other words, to say, I enjoy something, is really saying I receive or have, "Inner-Joy" when engaging in that particular activity. Moreover, true joy is inner joy...joy that comes from within leaving lasting feelings of deep inner fulfillment.
The miracle is that when you engage in the things that bring inner joy you also discover genuine happiness along with it. This is because the source of this kind of happiness comes only from within your own heart and soul, where our true power resides rather than an outer situation, person or circumstance. Ironically, by spending more time engaging only in those things or spending time with only the persons that bring you genuine inner joy, and less time on the things or with people who don't, you miraculously begin to have more time available to do those things.
Suddenly increased money begins to attract to you to invest in or support your desire to continue doing those joy-filled activities. Strangely, we find ourselves having more energy to contribute to spending quality time with the people with which we have a genuine affinity or doing those activities that bring us joy. Every area of our lives become infected by the positive changes and new attitude living a joy-filled life brings us. Instead of being affected by the negative energy and feelings of depression that result from chasing happiness through validation of sources in the world outside ourselves.
This is what Jesus meant in John 15:11 when he said, "I have spoken these things to you that MY JOY may be IN YOU and that YOUR JOY may be FULL." (i.e. Joy that is Complete).
With that said, I leave you with this video, that's both a classic and timeless 1986 song by R&B Artist, Anita Baker, as the perfect compliment to the message of this article. Listen to it not from the perspective of a romantic relationship love song. Instead, try listening to it in terms of your immensely profound love for the things you genuinely enjoy doing or the person (s) you enjoy spending time with (including yourself). Reflect on the deep inner feelings of "full-fillment" you receive from spending time with those people or activities as you listen to the hypnotic soulful voice of Anita Baker sing, "You Bring Me Joy." Then go do something that really awakens the Joy-Full Happiness in you.
Until next time, I surround you in Love & Light...
A One Love Production
By Anna Ms.Poet Hendricks
copyright 2012
