How to Choose the Power of Joy in Your Life
By: Debbie Walker
Tags: Life Lessons, Choices, Meditation, Spirituality, Wisdom

Joy is a choice.

What do I mean by that statement? It’s simple. We, you and me, have the power to choose. Our choices determine the power we have. We can choose to take control of our lives and manifest the power of our decisions or we can choose to do nothing, which is a choice.

For many years, I did not understand the impact of the small choices I made every day. I framed my decisions around life events such as which school to attend, who to marry, or how many children to have.

However, it is the seemingly insignificant choices that determine the quality of our daily lives going forward. What do we crave the most? If we could have one immaterial thing, what would it be?

For me, it is joy.

I tried to fill my life with things or events that I thought would bring me joy. However, I was only in pursuit of happiness. I discovered happiness is temporary. It is fleeting; you cannot grasp it. You are pursuing happiness, and it is always expressed in the future tense. Now I choose to invest my efforts in joy.

But how?

Choosing the power of joy

Joy is eternal. You can exist in joy. It is a state of mind that focuses on the present, despite our circumstances. In this life, we will have troubles that rob us of our joy if we let them.

Physical ailments and pain are a reality that many of us endure. For example, I have suffered chronic pain from arthritis for the past twelve years, and some days I struggle to find joy.

Disaster and hardships fall upon us in an instant. When I was a little girl, our house burned to the ground, and we lost everything.

My mother insisted things happen to the just and the unjust, despite our beliefs about the world and our experience of it. How we respond to these misfortunes determines the quality of life we experience. Amid our trials, we can practice joy.

Therefore, joy becomes a powerful choice.

Choosing the power of gratitude

Fortunately, in my investigation of joy, I found I had to develop an attitude of gratitude. I know that seems a cliché; however, gratitude is the basis of joy.

During my lifetime, I experienced grief and loss that seemed to undermine any thankfulness in my heart. The emotional suffering I underwent led me into a deep depression.

A friend told me to make a list of things to be grateful for. At first, I hesitated, but then I tried it. I started with ten items, and my inventory quickly grew to one hundred, and I’m still counting. After reading my list over and over, I felt the despair lift. Now, I wake up with thanksgiving in my heart.

Thus, I discovered that gratitude paves the road to joy.

Choosing the power of meditation

Meditating on joy has proven to have many benefits. Studies show joy can positively affect you physically and emotionally.

Meanwhile, meditation increases the levels of dopamine and serotonin in our brains. The release of these neurotransmitters increases feelings of elation and joy.

Also, joy can physically rewire my brain if I speak with intention. I often read Scripture out loud as part of my meditation. For example, I breathe in the first-half of the affirmation and breathe out the second-half. This act of speaking and listening creates new neurons and neural pathways when we meditate.

Your heart has 40,000 brain cells, and it emits electromagnetic signals. This energy creates emotional responses. Consider the sayings: “I feel joy in my heart,” or “my heart is breaking.”

Meditation is a powerful tool in your search for joy.

Choosing the power to cultivate joy

Finally, we must cultivate seeds of joy. Planting a joy seed can encourage, inspire, or empower others to do the same even when they are offensive or offended.

Taking the opportunity to smile, speak, or write words of encouragement often will stop the offending person in their tracks. Not only are you preventing bitterness from taking root within your heart, but offering the other person a seed of joy that may change theirs.

Furthermore, when you are having feelings or thoughts of anger or fear, stop, and reflect on what is happening. Try to give that emotion a name because when we can identify a thing, we can do something about it. Then, replace the emotion with a different feeling or thought (fear becomes faith, and anger becomes joy).

Joy gardening cultivates joy fruit.

Choosing the power of joy Scriptures

I begin every morning with my daily dose of Scripture. I have 10 verses containing the word “joy,” which I call my prescriptions (RX’s) for life.

I choose a verse from my list and focus, pay attention, mutter, or memorize it throughout the day until it becomes a part of me. You can choose to focus on one verse or all of them. I choose one that fits my need for that particular day and then a different one for another time. My list below reflects the joy I receive when I pray my Joy RX.

Joy is a gift to be opened with joyous expectations. Look and see what is inside!

As we do all these things, our hearts will be open to receiving joy. The fruit of joy will emerge, even when we least expect it. It will bubble up inside of us like a spring whose waters never fail, and the power to choose joy will become evident in what we say and do.