Joy versus Fear

I have been thinking of joy and what it is to me and what it is not. Joy seems to me like a by-product of something else and it also seems like it is the opposite of other things. For instance the definition of Joy is:

A feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
Emotion evoked by great pleasure, delight or happiness.
A state of happiness or felicity.
To be glad or rejoice.

I guess one way that I look at joy then is that it is something that is generated within you, and it is personal to you and what you are experiencing in your life and how you perceive your life, your relationships and it might possibly be something you can control or at least think about controlling. If joy is a by product of something else, what might that something else be? I am thinking of joy as a metaphor. How do these fit?

Joy is the frosting on the cake of your happiness.
Shall I compare my Joy to a summers day...
Joy is the sun in my sky.
Joy you are my latitude and love thou art my longitude.
Joy is a camera full of memories.
Joy is a blue azure sea of sparkling crystals and light.
Joy is the expression of my heart.

Then the best for last listen sometime to Joni Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning" The lyrics of this song are a cavalcade of simile and metaphor, my favorite:

"The sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses.."

What do you think of the concept that the way we experience the world is tied to the way we can imagine it? So if you imagine a life that is full of joy or imagined with joy, won't this perhaps lead to a joyful life?

I am thinking right now of a couple people that really express to me the shining truth of joy in their lives and contenance. Do you know any one like that? Ask them how they got that aspect in their being.

I also believe that the flip side of joy is something darker, something like fear. Like the power of positive thinking might lead to joy, the power of negative thinking leads to fear. I believe fear is the joy and happiness destroyer and persecutor. But what do you do about fear? How do you acknowledge it and then conquer it? People talk about not being afraid of fear, of working through fear or facing fear. But how do we do that? I don't know, but here is a thought:

Make a list!!

Write everything down that you fear and take some time to do it. Let it come from within and try not to be afraid of putting your fears down on paper. You might have some unknown fears that come up as your writing other things down. Write as much as you can, and take your time. Then try this, work on acknowledging those fears. What are those fears to you? They have a place in you somewhere and came from something. Talk to someone about those fears. Some of those fears are real and had a place in your history or development and are very grounded in reality. Facing a fear might feel like it will cause us more pain. I want to encourage you to try to face it, I believe and feel that fear of the truth is the real enemy. Be caring of yourself, and gentle with who you are.

Then back to Joy. The fear is the opposite of Joy.

Such a long time!

OHMYGOSH. It has been so long since I posted something here. Over a year. Where did the time go? Well, I graduated and I have had no time to do anything the last year or so but to survive in my jobs and my internship. It has been grueling and energy sapping. Not a recommended way to live.

Something that has been helping me lately is to think and dream about places that I would like to go. Like some fantasy trips I would like to take. I have a kind of fascination with places that are mysterious and old. I also love the water. Thinking about some of these places makes me happy to invision myself there on an adventure. I can fantasize right down to the language that might be spoken and what it would smell like and look like and sound like, music and art that might be found. Here are some places I would like to visit and stay awhile.

Stonehenge-UK
Machu Pichu
Easter Island
Prince Edward Island-Nova Scotia
San Juan Islands-British Columbia
Outer Banks in North Carolina ( I admit I loved that movie Message in the Bottle and have always wanted to go to the Outer Banks ever since I first saw the movie...)
New Zealand
India
Okinawa Gunto (This is the final resting place of the destroyer The USS Little DD 803 my fathers ship that was sunk in WWII. He was in the water for hours until rescue)

There are many more, but the point I make to myself is that nothing happens if you don't or can't think about putting yourself somewhere you want to be where you aren't now. And if you keep to the mantra that happiness is a by product of your journey, then perhaps, life might feel good to think a bit about some journeys you might like to take! Go for it and get your imaginations working on some possibilities!

Beck