Endless Joy by Lewis

I have several thoughts on this topic--

1) Anything that goes on endlessly will eventually become Hell itself. This is why I have never been particularly attracted to the concept of Heaven. In fact, the promise often made to folks is that if they would only conform to whatever criteria a particular religion has established for admission, they will experience "endless joy", albeit without any of those accoutrements of life on earth that generally make it enjoyable.

2) "Joy" itself is a nebulous and elusive concept. Attaining joy is not as simple as making a day trip to Disney World. It's true that one of the most joyful moments of my life occurred while I was at Disney World. But the laser light show at Epcot Center, coordinated with the Finale to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, would not have been one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life without the lunar eclipse synchronized perfectly with the music.

3) "Joy" can be attained from the most ordinary of life's experiences if the psyche is receptive. Even the realization that one's days-long bout of constipation is over can be joyful if one has a receptive frame-of-mind.

4) "Joy" can be very difficult to recognize if one is in chronic pain, either physical or psychological. Joy is as much about the body as it is about the mind.

5) "Joy" is like chocolate--to partake of it excessively will lead to misery. Before long, you will develop an aversion to it.

6) "Joy" is often recognized best in retrospect. In reading Laurin's journals from eight, nine, ten years ago, I can see how full and marvelous our lives were then.

7) The level of "joy" that I experience is symbiotically related to the way that I treat others. I cannot make others feel joyful, however. I can only let them know how much joy they bring to me.

8) "Joy" is not a function of where I am in the world or who I am with or what I am doing. It is a function of loving myself unconditionally.

© 6 January 2014

About the Author

    I came to the beautiful state of Colorado out of my native Kansas by way of Michigan, the state where I married and had two children while working as an engineer for the Ford Motor Company. I was married to a wonderful woman for 26 happy years and suddenly realized that life was passing me by. I figured that I should make a change, as our offspring were basically on their own and I wasn't getting any younger. Luckily, a very attractive and personable man just happened to be crossing my path at that time, so the change-over was both fortuitous and smooth.

Soon after, I retired and we moved to Denver, my husband's home town. He passed away after 13 blissful years together in October of 2012. I am left to find a new path to fulfillment. One possibility is through writing. Thank goodness, the SAGE Creative Writing Group was there to light the way.