The Joy of Living

The joy of living is not something you find. It is something you create.

Anybody can be happy when you are making buckets full of money and everything is going their way. It takes a person with a positive disposition to feel joy and find happiness when everything is not going easily.

Try this. When you feel like you are in a difficult situation, and you know that it is one you do not control, release your futile attempts at control. Notice how the burden lifts off your shoulders. Don't you feel lighter already? When things are out of your hands and they are ridiculously bad, just laugh. I just look at some of these things and say, OK, whatever. I keep on redefining my future instead of letting someone else define it for me. There is joy in that.

We all need to do whatever we can to move in the direction of our dreams. We can make wise choices about how we use our money. We can associate with people who love us, or at least like us, and will help us.

We can be optimistic about what comes next.

Now I have times when I feel the deep dark funk, the soul searching lows and down times as much as anyone else, but I realize that they are just part of the ebb and flow of life.

If you think that joy is something you have to search for to find, try this. Just decide to share a joke, sing a song, be optimistic about what is happening, and keep doing what you love, what moves you in the direction of your dreams, what makes your heart sing.

You will be surprised at how fast things will turn around. Joy is not something we find. It is not like we lost it while we were carrying in the groceries from the car or digging through old paperwork. Joy is something we intentionally create.