Joy is usually described, defined, or likened to: a state of Pleasure and Happiness. It makes sense… they are all good feelings, right? Yes and, as I experience it, Joy has some huge distinctions.
While pleasure is most often described as an experience of sensation, and happiness is most often described within a conditional attachment upon outside circumstance, like an achievement or attainment, that if lost would effect that state.
Example: while eating cookies and watching harry potter you are feeling happy and/or pleasure but once cookies are gone and movie over? The good feelings are potentially gone as well… (not that I’m speaking from experience). Pleasure and happiness can come and go, Joy is (or can be) a constant.
Here is where I find the distinctions of JOY:
- Joy comes from within us, Joy is never outside of us.
- Joy comes with a state of alignment and fulfillment.
- Joy is alway experienced only within in the present moment.
- Joy is an activation of the self and/or soul experience.
Joy is an expression of activation, authenticity and fullness within this moment. Joy is an experience of: the “aliveness” within ourselves that aligns with our soul in the present moment. It is how we know we are alive and on the right path. We are always connected to Joy, however, whether we experience it has many variables.
And, the good news is that Joy, Happiness, and Pleasure (and all emotions for that matter…) are practiced states of being and the degree to which we feel them, and the frequency, are to a great extent within our control. Gratitude is the gateway to Joy because it brings us into the present moment and recalibrates our brain to witness goodness within this moment.
When we practice being in the present moment, being our most authentic selves, we are practicing the foundations of Joy. When we are masters of our self and of living in the present moment, we can realize: Joy is who we truly are.
Julie Perlee 