Have You Lost Your Joy?

We ALL go through periods in life where it feels like we've lost our Joy. Unfortunately, suffering is not something we can avoid as humans. But how we respond to it can change our perception of suffering. It is possible for suffering to become a pathway to a life filled with JOY.

Suffering leads to Joy… Yes, there was a time when it frustrated me to hear people say this, and I couldn't admit it was true. Maybe you've also repeated some of these sentences to yourself a few times. "I'll be happy when I get ___," or?"I" ll be happy if ___turns out the way I want it to."?

It's the misbelief that happiness is conditional and depends upon our circumstances going a certain way. But what if your happiness relies solely on your ability to think and choose freely? What if the?single most influential factor in your happiness was YOU?

Emotional pain and suffering are caused by the inability to let go of unhealthy attachments to people, memories, things, and behaviors we no longer need. We struggle to let go of them because we've been using them to cope with hurt for so long.

Rumi famously said, "the wound is the place where the Light enters you." The fact that you're aware of your pain is your opportunity to let the light in, to make the first step from being wounded . . . to Joy.

The major emotional mindset shift that needs to occur is the understanding that being wounded does not hinder your?ability?to feel Joy. I know it feels like it, but that feeling is just an illusion.

We cannot cure all of the world's sorrows, but what we can do, is?choose to live in JOY —Joseph Campbell.

If you allow it, the wounds and scars from your pain and suffering can cause an immense positive light that shines from you, creating Joy not only for you but for everyone around you!