“Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.”
—Joseph Campbell
Thank God there’s lots of laughter in my home, because I love to laugh.
My kids are funny, and they bring me tremendous joy, as do their friends.
Yes, I really love my kids’ friends. In fact, I have a wall in my home where I hang portraits of all of them who consider this their second home. The wall is full, and if anyone gets out of line, I threaten to take that friend’s portrait down. Trust me, that works way better than any “time out” I ever gave.
One thing I learned watching my parents is that they always had young friends, and my brothers’ and my friends became their friends. Melding generations gave my parents joy and kept them active and socially engaged.
As my own kids have grown and developed their separate lives—and tried to take their friends with them!—I’ve had to find other ways to bring joy into my life. This is something I have to work on daily.
I’m blessed with my own friends who make me laugh, and that’s helped me realize that keeping my joy on is critical as I get older and some un-funny things start to happen.
And I’ve also learned that I have to stop doing things that block joy. I have to keep turning off that inner voice of critical self-judgment and shame, stop avoiding living in the present by overly focusing on the future, stop numbing myself with cookies and ice cream.
What also works for me is to be of service. My work in the Alzheimer’s community brings me joy. I get joy attending a Bible service with my son. I get joy participating in service opportunities in my church community.
Focusing on finding my joy—like Joseph Campbell says in that quote—helps burn out the old shame and pain I still carry.
So get your joy on. Spark joy in yourself, and before you know it, others will gravitate to you for their own joy shot.
Dear God, help me feel the joy in my own heart. Help me feel the joy that is around me. Help me be a messenger of joy in my family. Help me become a beacon of joy in the lives of others. Amen.