Excerpted from the book: The Goddess of Happiness, A Down-to-Earth Guide for Heavenly Balance and Bliss by Debbie Gisonni
What is joy to you? It can certainly take many forms. For one
woman, it may be the sound of children laughing or the smell of
puppy breath. For another, it's dancing in the moonlight or eating ice
cream. For yet another, it could be a soothing massage or pedicure.
We often associate joy with the things and events in our lives
that produce the warmest and fuzziest feelings of pleasure, but true
joy requires no external stimuli. It's a state of mind that exists regardless
of what's happening around you. Children can easily find
laughter and joy in just being. I once read that children laugh hundreds
of times a day. Goldie Hawn, who seems to have a perpetual
giggling child inside of her, once said in an interview that all she
ever wanted to be when she grew up was happy--just like she was
as a kid. As an adult, she makes a conscious effort to pursue inner
happiness through quiet meditation. Her inside joy is reflected in
her outside life and work, including a documentary she developed
called In Search of Joy and an organization she founded, the Bright
Light Foundation, to help young people live more positive and
fulfilling lives.
Bringing joy to others feeds our own happiness. If you grew up
around my family, you'd know that food always brought us much
joy--preparing it, serving it, eating it, or just talking about it. I remember
a story my father used to tell me about a time when he
was away from home in the Marines. One day, a package arrived
from his mother containing a homemade blueberry pie. He was so
excited that he and his comrades skipped the utensils, broke through
the flaky crust with their hands, and shoveled the gooey mixture
into their watering mouths. There was a look of sheer joy in my
father's eyes each time he told that story. Later in his life, when he
was dying of bone cancer, I personally carried a homemade blueberry
pie on a plane from California to New York, just to see his face light
up one last time. Even when people are dying, you can bring a little
joy into their lives . . . and yours.
Joy can be accessed during both the happiest and most difficult
times in your life, because it is present in your heart at all times.
You have a place for it inside of you (which can be found) and a
memory of it (which can be reproduced). Reaching into your store
of joy is like going to the automatic teller machine and making a
withdrawal of happiness. But unlike your bank account, there's an
unlimited supply of joy to receive and share!
Abraham Lincoln said, "Most people are about as happy as they
choose to be." As a goddess, it's your choice to use your joy, and
your privilege to share it.
About the Author
Debbie Gisonni, aka The Goddess of Happiness™, is an author (The Goddess of Happiness: A Down-to-Earth Guide for Heavenly Balance and Bliss and Vita's Will: Real Life Lessons about Life Death & Moving On), speaker, happiness expert and columnist for iVillage.com. Contact:
www.goddessofhappiness.com
Copyright, All Rights Reserved, Debbie Gisonni
