The Little Book of Joy
Joy is Simply a Choice
Julia M. Lindsey
© 2008 by Julia M. Lindsey
ISBN 978-1-935157-06-9 Print Version
ISBN 978-1-935157-29-8 Ebook Version
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Contents
Change Yourself, Change Your Life
“The standard of success in life isn’t the things. It isn’t the money or the stuff—it is absolutely the amount of joy you feel.”
—Abraham-Hicks
Have you ever wondered why some people are always positive and happy? It seems that no matter what life brings them, they are joyful. On the other hand, there are people who are negative, grumpy, and can’t see the clear blue sky because the sun is too bright. Maybe you are somewhere in-between, but you know in your gut that there must be more to life than what you are getting. Well, there is!
This book will help you begin to explore how you react to life and how you can begin to choose joy in everyday experiences. After all, you make many choices in life, some more major than others: what career path to take, what person to choose as your spouse, what type of car to own, what to eat for dinner, but perhaps most importantly, what responses you make to life circumstances.
If you knew that your life could be vastly improved by making a simple choice— JOY— wouldn’t you make that choice?
“Fill your life with as many moments and experiences of joy and passion as you humanly can. Start with one experience and build on it.”
—Marcia Wieder
To begin finding joy in your life, you must first know how it feels to be joyful. Can you think of moments when you have felt complete joy? Maybe you were holding your newborn baby, watching the rhythm of ocean waves, feeling a warm breeze on your face, listening to a child’s laughter, or marveling at the beauty of a delicately scented flower.
If you close your eyes right now, do you have a sense of how joy feels? Joy is a natural emotion, a sense of belonging, an inner calmness, a certainty that you have value and are important, or a well-being that spreads throughout your body. Once you can touch that feeling, notice whatever it is that could bring you joy and choose to experience it, even for a moment.
But like many people, if you are out of practice of being joyful, you may have trouble easily finding that sense of joy. So, try this exercise. Take about five minutes when you will not be disturbed. Forget any worries about money or time issues, or whether an idea is even possible. Close your eyes and think of the one place you would dearly love to be right now. Perhaps you are in front of a fireplace in a cozy cabin, or on a sun-drenched beach in Hawaii, or on a date with a superstar— anyplace your imagination takes you.
Now, go to this special place and experience it in detail, using all your senses. If you are at the beach, feel how the sun warms you as the sand molds to your body. Touch each individual grain of sand as it slides through your fingers. See yourself lying on the beach with your perfect body, your perfect mate stretched out next to you, watching the palm trees softly sway in the breeze. Hear the ocean waves as they lap the shore. Taste fresh, juicy strawberries and savor a cold, refreshing fruit drink. Smell the tang of the salt water as the soft, warm air caresses your face.