Warning - this post is all over the place...
So, in an attempt to be a little thought provoking, I would like to discuss joy today. For those of you who did not have the chance to attend the Temple dedication broadcast yesterday there was a talk on joy and being joyful.
Afterwards Mike and I started talking and he says they say the same things over and over. I told him that's because we need to hear the same things over and over and when we start to understand and practice them then we can learn new things. So, I thought to myself "Am I joyful? Certainly there are things that bring me joy. But over all, am I joyful?"
I am happy, but don't think of myself as joyful. So I wondered what is the difference, why do I draw the line in my mind. So I googled and found the following definitions in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
Joy
- the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight
- a state of happiness or felicity : bliss
- a source or cause of delight
Happy
- notably fitting, effective, or well adapted : felicitous
- enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment
- expressing, reflecting, or suggestive of happiness
I know that I fit happy. Characterized by well-being and contentment, well adapted. I believe those things do describe me. I'm happy with my family, I'm happy with my job. But, I have buts. "But, I could be a better mom. But, I could provide for my family better. But, I could be a better friend. But, I wish...."
I guess the reason I don't consider myself joyful is because I always seem to want and worry. To me, a truly joyful person may not be completely carefree - but overall they are satisfied. And I don't think joyful people have buts. But, no where in the dictionary does Joyful say satisfied. So why do I think this?
Don't get me wrong - I love my family, I'm not saying that I'm sad and down on myself at all.
Actually, the part of my favorite parts of the dedication was when they said - just like we want our children to be full of joy, Heavenly Father wants us to be full of joy. Preparing and going to the temple helps us have joy.
So - are you happy, or are you joyful and is there a difference?
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Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. ~Author Unknown
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Listen to the Mustn'ts
Listen to the mustn'ts, child.
Listen to the don'ts.
Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves,
then listen close to me...
Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
Listen to the don'ts.
Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves,
then listen close to me...
Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
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Slide Show 1
Song for a Fifth Child
Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo.
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo.
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo.
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo.
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
Where in the World
Counter
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Our year in pictures
2 comments:
Im happy but I dont think others would view me as "joyful". I see people and im just like oh ya its her again or oh no there is another neighbor kid I cant stand. Really I am happy like you said with my friends and family and kids but I dont think others see me as joyful when they are around me. I think you are joyful to be around! I wish I always seemed happy and joyful to see everyone like my neighbor kids and stuff. I need to try harder but I thik your right when you always are wanting and wishing then you cant be as happy and joyful. Crap do I even make sence? Well good post I liked it.
Chris and I have had this conversation before. I think having true joy in life means to be completely faithful in the past, present and future. Having faith in Heavenly Father's plan for us. Being faithful and hopeful at all times even when things are hard. I would definitly say that I am happy with my life but I would not say that I am truely joyful. I stress too much. There was a genereal authority that said once "Where stress is, faith cannot be..." I have tried to always remember that but I think it is one of those things I will be working on until I die. Thanks for the thought provoking post.
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