The Warrior's Path - Understanding the Nature of Joyfulness

Sirens & Summations- A Path to Joyful Living

Newsletter #6:?The Warrior's Path - Understanding the Nature of Joyfulness

Dear Friends:

"Joy is the happiness that doesn't depend on what happens."

- Brother David Steindl-Rast

This is perhaps the most important episode of my?Sirens & Summations- Path to a Joyful Life series. It will tie in the past 5 Newsletters, and the next 9 editions. It is the fulcrum of life’s lessons. It is the animating aspect of life itself.?

Listen to the video hereto for my extemporaneous thoughts on this relevant topic!

In our previous newsletters, we've explored finding purpose through small changes, being "watered" rather than defeated by life, and its challenges, of “creating” rather than “finding” ourselves.?

Today, I want to talk about something fundamental to all of these ideas, that is, the true nature of our human desire, that being, joy. Joy is the goal of life. It is the animating force, it is the noun by which we should live. This is why we discussed curiosity and purpose of life earlier. It is all about finding joy.?

Joy is not a word to be played with. Joyfulness, as a state of being, is not a fancy, polite, or pollyannish concept.??No! It takes boldness to be joyful! It takes confidence! It takes wisdom! And importantly, it takes PRACTICE and MINDFULNESS! The more we cultivate joy, the tougher, stronger, wiser, connected, and confident we become.?

Let’s face it is easier to just complain about life and give up on achieving a dream, or positive state of being. It is easy, and you will be in good company to live in a constant state of discontent, accusation, and negativity. Or, to continually make an excuses about underperforming, or how everything is “stacked against you!”?

To be joyful, however, you have to be a warrior! You have to face down adversity and confront it with confidence, as you fend adversity off. A joyful person accepts adversity, confronts it, and regardless, if vanquished, or not, is never defeated, nor defined by it!?

A joyful warrior understands that the fight itself, accepting the challenge, regardless of the outcome, is the win.??They do not fear loss.??They do not fear “defeat.”??Importantly, they do not fear what other people think!??

Teddy Roosevelt described the joyful warrior spirit perfectly in the poem “Man in the Arena.”?

The Man In The Arena Passage

Joy can only come to the bold, the person in the arena, irrespective of win or loss, who knows the fight is better than the defeat of sitting in the stands of the arena critiquing how those actually doing a thing are doing it.?

Joy Versus Happiness: A Warrior's Understanding

Many people use the words "joy" and "happiness" interchangeably. But there's a profound difference - one that warriors, philosophers, and spiritual leaders throughout history have recognized.

Happiness is largely a temporary happenstance-- it comes and goes with external events. Like a leaf in the wind, it's beautiful, but fleeting. Joy, on the other hand, is something deeper, enduring, more powerful. It's the warrior's spirit that transcends external and fleeting circumstances. It takes a lot to transcend the fears of failure, what other people think, one’s inner voice that tries to defeat them, and those that actually mean you harm. Joyfulness is the harmony of the Spirit that allows you to be the fighter you were meant to be!

Consider these examples:

- Viktor Frankl finding meaning and inner peace in a concentration camp.

- Nelson Mandela maintaining his spirit through 27 years of imprisonment.

- St. Paul writing about joy from a prison cell.

- Mother Teresa finding joy in the darkest places of human suffering.

In my capacity as an EMT and trial lawyer, I have seen many brave souls who are not famous, but who exhibited a joyfulness that is difficult to comprehend when you witness it. Many times, as a young EMT I would ask myself what possibly made a person so joyful while confronting such tragedy. As a homicide prosecutor, I would wonder the same thing as I witnessed a family grapple with the unimaginable murder of a loved one. I wanted to learn what it was that they had that made some of them so resilient and powerful.?

What did these individuals understand that we need to grasp? In the end these people were joyful, mindful, deliberate in how the viewed the world and what was happening to them.??They were amazing!

?The Warrior's Perspective

The warrior's approach to joy isn't about avoiding pain or seeking constant pleasure. It's about developing an inner strength that allows us to navigate both light and darkness with equal steadiness. As Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor, wrote:?"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." THIS IS SO TRUE!!!

Note, he did not say that quality of your experiences, or things when they are going well.??No, it was about thoughts, mindset, and how you view the situation.??The truth is we all have the freewill to think about things as we see fit, and that is where joyfulness will ebb, or flow—depending on the “…quality of your thoughts.”?

This is the kind of joy I've witnessed in my work as both EMT and trial attorney - people who maintain their spirit even in life's most challenging moments. It's not because they don't feel pain or sadness; it's because they've developed something deeper than circumstantial happiness.

Can you learn how to do this and cultivate this strength? Yes!??We will be discussing that very thing in coming episodes.?

Building the Warrior Spirit

So, true joyfulness is:

- Not dependent on external circumstances.

- Built through conscious choice and practice.

- Strengthened by adversity, not diminished by it.

- A form of resilience that grows stronger over time.

- It is a spiritual thing that each person has the power to tap into-if they dare!

I say “dare” because a warrior who develops a joyful spirit does not turn away. They do not refuse to engage, if after discernment, they choose to take/confront a difficult path.??They do not recede, but proceed in the face of fear and challenge. A joyful spirit, while not wishing for adversity, nevertheless does not let adversity and disappointments defeat them.?

???Reflection Point: Think about a time when you experienced deep joy even in difficult circumstances. What made that possible? Is it possible that when you reflect back, you look fondly at the challenging moment.??That you are proud you persevered. That is the language of joy.?

The Path to Joyful Living

This newsletter series is called “Sirens & Summations-- A Path to Joyful Living" because joy isn't something that happens to us - it's something we cultivate, like a warrior develops strength and skill. Every topic we've discussed contributes to this development:

- Father Heath's "one millionth of a degree" changes build joy through small acts.

- Being "watered not defeated" develops joy through resilience.

- Creating rather than finding ourselves allows us to choose joy regardless of circumstances, and not just give up when the outside world offers us lemons.?

Moving Forward

In the coming weeks, we'll explore specific practices for developing this warrior's joy. We'll learn from ancient wisdom and modern science, from spiritual teachers and everyday heroes. Most importantly, we'll learn how to build a joy that endures through all of life's sirens and summations.

???Final Reflection Points:

- How do you distinguish between happiness and joy in your own life?

- What practices help you maintain your spirit during challenges?

- Where might you need to develop more of a warrior's approach to joy?

A Personal Note

As someone who has witnessed both tragedy and triumph in emergency rooms and courtrooms, I've seen firsthand the difference between temporary happiness and enduring joy. The path to joyful living isn't about avoiding life's challenges - it's about developing the warrior's spirit to meet them with grace and strength.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the distinction between happiness and joy. Share your reflections in the comments below.

For now, I wish to give you some quotes that show something that I feel is the greatest obstacle to developing joy.??And, that is the thought that life is easy, challenge free, that you are just defeated/cursed and have no control over it when life gets rough.??Once you accept that reality that pain is unavoidable in life, you can only then begin to develop the superpower of joy!!!

Let’s have some fun and look at some great quotes on our way to a joyful journey in life by the greats who all suffered and triumphed:

Theodore Roosevelt (Man in the Arena):

• "It is not the critic who counts... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena... who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly."

Maya Angelou:

• "You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it."
• "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away."

Winston Churchill:

• "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
• "Never give up on something that you can't go a day without thinking about."

Harriet Tubman:

• "Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."

General George S. Patton:

• "Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom."
• "I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but by how high he bounces when he hits bottom."

Muhammad Ali:

• "Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion."
• "I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'"

Helen Keller:

• "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."
• "Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it."

Vince Lombardi:

• "It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up."
• "The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall."

Eleanor Roosevelt:

• "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
• "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face."
• "You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

Marie Curie:

• "Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves."
• "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood."

What do all of these great and wise people have in common???They accepted the pain in life as the water from which triumph and joy followed.?

And, that is why the world admires them!

Until next time.

Bob

Resources:

Deathbed Confessions by an Emergency Medical Technician! | Robert (Bob) Bianchi | TEDxStGeorgeStudio

The Bianchi Law Group, LLC.

Nothing But The Truth Podcast

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