The ancient Egyptians believed that one’s afterlife depended on answering two questions. “Did you find joy? Did you bring joy?” It is so much easier to find joy and to give joy when you live from the inside out.
Joy is different from happiness. Happiness can come from outside circumstances. You can feel happy because your child succeeded at something. You can feel joy just because you love your child. You can feel happy because you are on vacation, away from the day-today responsibilities. You can feel joy just because you are splashing in the ocean or lying in the sun. Joy is a state of being. Happy is an emotion. Of course, if you are in a joyful state, you are also experiencing happiness. The writer’s thesaurus entry for the word joy offers the synonyms of delight, ecstasy and bliss. The entry for happy offers the synonyms of cheerful or content.
We create our own joy. You know it. You’ve felt it. That almost indescribable feeling of being in just the right place at just the right time doing just the right thing. Joy comes from within when we are aware of who we are; a spiritual being enjoying a physical experience. En-joying is being in a state of joy. Consider what you enjoy doing. I enjoy dancing. It feeds me in some way. I feel connected to the movement of my body. I feel my physical self energized with life. I feel the beat of the drum…a primal force that joins the musicians and dancers in the same way that babe and mother are joined together in a single heartbeat. The sound of the guitar tugs at my heartstrings; its power to awaken my emotions is not only able to send my spirit soaring but also to make me weep. The saxophone stirs my soul and resonates through every cell of my body. When I am dancing, I am in a state of joy. Although the music originates outside of me, the vibrational qualities feed my inner being. Not everybody wants to dance. It doesn’t bring them joy, or even make them happy. Some actually avoid it, vehemently stating, “I don’t dance.” But for those of us who en-joy it, we find it essential to life. So, if I were an Egyptian being asked the question about finding joy, I could enthusiastically say “Yes, I found joy in dancing”.
What could you do today to find a little joy in your life? Your action doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else. It doesn’t need to be practical or cost any money. Give yourself permission to just do it. Trust that you know best about how to be the best you. Go look for your joy and find it! When you review your life and the time of judgment comes, you’ll be able to answer “Yes”.
Now, let’s move on to the next question, “Did you bring joy?” How do you bring joy to others, if joy doesn’t come from the outside? Joy comes when you live from the inside out by following your heart and trusting your gut feelings. It comes from inner silence and knowing. Consider this…you bring joy when you love. When you love, you live from the inside out. When you love yourself, you accept yourself. When you love, you make choices to bring joy to others. When we love our lives, we create a more abundant and joyful world. Today, may the love in your life fill your world with joy. I think once you find joy, you can’t help but bring it with you wherever you go! Maybe the ancients were speaking about this simple rule… “Love one another.”