Inventing Your Life
“Finding Personal Joy”
By
Rob Claudio
Last week I was driving behind a car
as we slowly made our way down a long avenue in stop and go rush hour traffic,
down a busy avenue. In front of me, was
a car with a white and gray dog that that kept sticking its head out the back
windows every time the car came to a stop. The dog would alternate between each
window as it would look out and turn back at all of us driving behind it. At times, the dog was looking back directly at
me and it made me smile for an extended period of time, as you could see utter happiness
clearly depicted in its eyes. It
relished taking in the sights and aromas all around, as we slowly crept up the
street with all of the cars in tow.
Being a bystander and taking all of this in, certainly made my afternoon
drive more joyful than I thought it would be.
Soon after I got home, I received some pictures from one of my nephews
who had gotten married a couple of weeks prior and although I was unable to
attend the wedding, I looked at all of the images that were sent to me that painted
another joy filled event. The photos got
more and more vivacious as the celebration transitioned into the reception with
lots of happy and silly images from family and friends. Although I was not present, I could feel the happiness
that was radiated by those that were there.
I again found myself smiling while viewing the images and had another recognized
moment of joy that was contagious via these photos. In retrospect to my day, I contemplated
how I have learned over the years that true happiness can be found almost
anywhere, as long as you are open to receiving it in its many forms. I know that some days it may be more
difficult to find those moments, however, think about the residual effect from
those instances where you are able to acknowledge it and make it part of your
day. When you forget whatever was
troubling you and are able if only for a small juncture to snap out of your
original thinking with a smile and proceed with a happier perspective, you
become the catalyst for your own change. Also, there are many things that can trigger a
happy feeling, so it is nice to know that we have a long varied menu of things
to contemplate that can change our viewpoint.
Whether it is the sound of a child laughing or a favorite song that
makes you want to get up and dance as you sing along, the options for joyful
moments are plenty. Ultimately we must
remember that the responsibility for the joy we want in our lives lies within
us. Consequently, if you wait for
someone else to bring it to you or for the right invitation to arrive, you may
be waiting a long time. Remember to
never miss an opportunity to be still and acknowledge a happy instance that you
can archive in your memories, which you can access at a future date. If you have the opportunity to rent a movie
that perfectly illustrates this process, I highly recommend the Disney Pixar
animated film “Inside Out”. I can talk
about this topic via my own experiences, however, there is nothing like a live
illustration that can make it that much easier to fully comprehend. Ultimately,
I am sure that you will find that many of life’s simple things, can create the
greatest of joy filled moments. Your
strategy should be purposeful in creating that environment on a daily
basis. As a result, the things that make
you happy and bring a smile to your face is what you should remember every
night as you close your eyes and think about another fulfilling day that you
had the privilege to be a part of.
“Joy does not simply happen to us.
We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen
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