Live Joyfully

Why is it that we are so reluctant to show joy? At what point in our childhood, do we stop running to the front door when mom or dad comes home from work? When did we stop squealing with delight at good news, opting instead to express our joy with a calm, “well done” and a pat on the back? Why do we discredit the joy in our accomplishments, explaining our hard work away as good luck or discounting the success as less than it really is? And why is it so much easier to focus on the struggles we face in our relationships – petty jealousies, annoyances, disagreements, misunderstandings – than to focus on the joy that the relationship brings to our life?

Living a graceful and Grace-filled life requires that we not only embrace all of life’s emotions – joy, sadness, anger, happiness, anxiety, serenity – but that we share those emotions with others so that they might embrace them as well. Negative emotions are often easily exhibited with complaints, eye-rolling, sneers, judgments and grudges. Yet joy – pure, unadulterated blissful joy – is often sedated and tempered.

by Christine Organ TO READ MORE

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