~ Inclining the Mind Towards Joy ~
This spring I have been reflecting on joy and in these difficult times I think most, if not all of us, could use more of it. To me, joy is a bit different from happiness because it is deeper and doesn’t necessarily depend on our external conditions or circumstances. Joy is an inside job. With this mind, here are 15 ‘things’ that may incline your mind towards joy:
- The joy of living an ethical life or what the Buddha calls the bliss of blamelessness. When we do the best we can to avoid harming anyone or anything, we have nothing to blame ourselves for or guilty about and joy naturally arises.
- The joy of presence. When we are in the present moment fully and completely, joy can arise. Not always but sometimes.
- The joy of being in nature, grounded in and on the earth – our home. This is a great joy to me and in the mornings I often walk outside with bare feet for a few moments.
- The joy of sensory beauty – seeing, hearing, touching, smelling or tasting beautiful things.
- The joy of wonder and awe. Of marveling at life and seeing miracles everywhere – in the mundane and the ordinary, as well as the rare and uncommon. Wonder at a spider’s web or a double rainbow. Wonder at simply being alive.
- The joy of gratitude and appreciation. For me, this is often the easiest way to incline the mind to joy. No matter how hard life gets, there is always something to be grateful for.
- The joy of being generous towards others. We can experience joy when we form an intention to be generous, when we actually are generous, and when we remember our generosity afterwards.
- Related to this is the joy of letting go and renunciation. When we truly let go of our material possessions or our views and beliefs, a sense of freedom and lightness naturally arise that can be very joyful.
- The joy of humor and being able to laugh at ourselves and at the comedy and absurdity of life. We don’t need to take ourselves so seriously. Lightening up about ourselves and life can be a source of much joy.
- The joy of loving others. This is a big one. Offering our love, goodwill and kindness to others can be an immense source of joy. And if you don’t believe me, I invite you to try it out and see if it’s true for you. It’s easier to start with people you know and like but we can also think kind thoughts towards people we don’t know and don’t like.
- Related to this, there’s the joy of service, the joy of helping others. Kahlil Gibran said that “Work is love made visible”, and when this is true our service, our work, become a source of deep joy – in the planning, the doing, the completion, and afterwards.
- Rejoicing in the happiness of others can be an immense joy. This is what is sometimes called appreciative or unselfish joy in Buddhism. For instance, rejoicing when a child reaches a developmental milestone, such as learning to walk, or when they have some kind of success in life. It’s often easy to experience this type of joy about children.
- Then there’s the joy of forgiveness. This one can be subtle and harder to spot because forgiveness often takes time. But when it does come, it’s like a weight being lifted from your shoulders, a relief and a release from the chains of the past. And in their place there’s a lightness and a freedom and a joy similar to the joy of letting go and renunciation.
- As much as loving others, unselfish joy and forgiveness of others are joyful, so is loving and appreciating ourselves. This isn’t about being proud or arrogant or thinking that we are special. Rather, it’s about recognizing and being joyful about the talents and capacities we can share with others.
- The joy of being alive. Sometimes, joy arises simply because we are alive and we know it. For no other reason. When the body and the mind calm down and settle, a natural and easy joy can appear.
This list is not complete or comprehensive and your list of the experiences that can incline the mind towards joy might be different from mine. You could try composing your own list. It’s actually a very joyful thing to do. And when you have your own list, I encourage you to reflect on it regularly and add to it.
- The joy of living an ethical life or what the Buddha calls the bliss of blamelessness. When we do the best we can to avoid harming anyone or anything, we have nothing to blame ourselves for or guilty about and joy naturally arises.
- The joy of presence. When we are in the present moment fully and completely, joy can arise. Not always but sometimes.
- The joy of being in nature, grounded in and on the earth – our home. This is a great joy to me and in the mornings I often walk outside with bare feet for a few moments.
- The joy of sensory beauty – seeing, hearing, touching, smelling or tasting beautiful things.
- The joy of wonder and awe. Of marveling at life and seeing miracles everywhere – in the mundane and the ordinary, as well as the rare and uncommon. Wonder at a spider’s web or a double rainbow. Wonder at simply being alive.
- The joy of gratitude and appreciation. For me, this is often the easiest way to incline the mind to joy. No matter how hard life gets, there is always something to be grateful for.
- The joy of being generous towards others. We can experience joy when we form an intention to be generous, when we actually are generous, and when we remember our generosity afterwards.
- Related to this is the joy of letting go and renunciation. When we truly let go of our material possessions or our views and beliefs, a sense of freedom and lightness naturally arise that can be very joyful.
- The joy of humor and being able to laugh at ourselves and at the comedy and absurdity of life. We don’t need to take ourselves so seriously. Lightening up about ourselves and life can be a source of much joy.
- The joy of loving others. This is a big one. Offering our love, goodwill and kindness to others can be an immense source of joy. And if you don’t believe me, I invite you to try it out and see if it’s true for you. It’s easier to start with people you know and like but we can also think kind thoughts towards people we don’t know and don’t like.
- Related to this, there’s the joy of service, the joy of helping others. Kahlil Gibran said that “Work is love made visible”, and when this is true our service, our work, become a source of deep joy – in the planning, the doing, the completion, and afterwards.
- Rejoicing in the happiness of others can be an immense joy. This is what is sometimes called appreciative or unselfish joy in Buddhism. For instance, rejoicing when a child reaches a developmental milestone, such as learning to walk, or when they have some kind of success in life. It’s often easy to experience this type of joy about children.
- Then there’s the joy of forgiveness. This one can be subtle and harder to spot because forgiveness often takes time. But when it does come, it’s like a weight being lifted from your shoulders, a relief and a release from the chains of the past. And in their place there’s a lightness and a freedom and a joy similar to the joy of letting go and renunciation.
- As much as loving others, unselfish joy and forgiveness of others are joyful, so is loving and appreciating ourselves. This isn’t about being proud or arrogant or thinking that we are special. Rather, it’s about recognizing and being joyful about the talents and capacities we can share with others.
- The joy of being alive. Sometimes, joy arises simply because we are alive and we know it. For no other reason. When the body and the mind calm down and settle, a natural and easy joy can appear.
This list is not complete or comprehensive and your list of the experiences that can incline the mind towards joy might be different from mine. You could try composing your own list. It’s actually a very joyful thing to do. And when you have your own list, I encourage you to reflect on it regularly and add to it.