Since I let the children of my heart go, I have had a sense that the atoms which are not manifesting themselves in the bodies of my babies are instead manifesting themselves in the green spring leaves, as I watch them glow with sunlight, like a miracle. And the strange thing is, even with tearing grief, even with hopelessness, the joy has come through for me. You’re not supposed to be able to live without hope but I have managed it, for a decade now. The walking is rhythmic and takes away anxiety.I enjoy dancing. The same double stitch or garter stitch over and over and over....it is like meditation but more sensual.I also enjoy going on long walks with my husband. For example, I enjoy knitting and crocheting in repetitive patterns. I receive joy from the shear pleasure of rhythm. The stories that I hear keep me going and letting each person speak their truth to this life we are living together. I find joy in getting to hear others stories. She lives a long way away and I don’t get to see her much. And of course my beautiful Daughter when she chooses to say hello. I can’t seem to wallow in joy the way I do sorrow but I am ready to seek it out and embrace it. Sorrow is there when I createSomething I’m not too happy with, when I worry about said son and his beloved, and tomorrow sorrow will greet me when I put my dog down. Joy comes to me through art, my son and his beloved, and my dog. And often when I hold joy, sorrow is right there with her, almost always in fact. We know the simple answers to this; music, food, family, friends, experiences. I find my joy in nature and love. I miss Ken often, and those moments of joy are now left to my imagination. Joy lasts for seconds - sometimes minutes if you're lucky - but when you feel the joy it seems like forever. That blissfulness, if brief, is there, everyday, and you dont even have to look for it. Starting with simple acts of kindness, like sharing a cigarette with at fellow traveller at the bus stop. But, like the beggar's coat "pocked with a thousand holes", sadness is moth-eaten, and only small joys can pass through. She’s a real Joy, not just in name but in everything even when we don’t always see eye to eye on everything.Needless to say we are as one when it comes to your music and wise words.Joy is close if you are open to it. And I think maybe that's OK.Time, money , health, work - these, and other less tangible things, can all stand in the way of joy. But joy seems to have the upper hand as a more 'worthy' emotion. This Birmingham evening will be special though, for its joys, when realised, will be brought into focus by what I would have come so close to losing. If we lean on the immense love and care we hold for one another, if we listen and empathise, exhibit patience and faith, if we do so many of the right things we already have. I feel my lived life keenly and in surprising and new ways through this discipline and medium. 3) Calm morning moments with a cup of coffee, after having overcome something terrible like an alcohol addiction. We fear that by allowing ourselves to find joy in simple, ordinary things, we ourselves, our lives become ordinary. I trigger it in enjoying my free time, going for a walk, playing with my children or cooking something for my new friends. It is flowing through good and bad events, but joy is something else, as long as I' m alive joy is always present. Though I feel soberer from all the needless thoughts about joy. As a result, I tried to find joy (again) thinking that I had an actually happy life before. Like a muscle to be strengthened we practice opening up our atoms and letting joy IN!! I take my inspiration from the traditional Japanese way of achieving joy by taking pride and fulfilment from a small thing done to the best of my ability. Occasionally I wake from a dream and feel it. Perhaps in seeing someone I love that I never thought I'd see again. Small coincidences and acts of kindness also bring me so much joy! Great heat all morning, with profuse sweat, a nauseous feeling in the chest, and the shoulders are very hot. Chill in the hands and the feet all morning, without thirst; with drawing-pressive pains throughout the whole body; the ribs ache as if compressed and beaten, after having sat for some time. Also, having an orgasm sometimes gives Calcarea phosphorica extra energy, resulting in a feeling of general well being, a good appetite, and a desire for work after coitus. Calcarea phosphorica is also very sympathetic toward other people's suffering and many times can become considerably anxious about others (again displaying their phosphoric nature). I guess joy, to me, comes from new sensory experiences that draw me outward.In the Stoic worldview, lust is seen as a natural but misguided desire that can distract us from living a life of virtue and purpose.Joy that can help to get me out of a bad mood, to transform it into something good and even get me through the most difficult of times.And getting through my daily life on the excitement, hope, and promise of a little break.Then I'll eventually get into my old car, and drive for about 2-3 hours.The rare moments when you can feel that all that you have lost are still a part of you.In the small things, the trivial things, the little moments of daily life.The Belladonna patient can become frighteningly destructive and wildly violent, wanting to strike people or bite them as previously described.But every single year that joy is repeated faithfully, and reminds me that I might lose but I will also be restored. To lose who you love is profoundly sad. This is probably joy absolute joy. Just a thought maybe the birth of a wanted loved chil. Only in retrospect can we identify joy, only in the past, only after it has permanently been erased. Once they’re acclimated, think outside the box for feeding time On the contrary, he feels secure that he has enough in case of need due to his avaricious nature. Became childish, irritable, feelings easily hurt and especially so with her husband. The hemorrhage is of bright red color and sometimes slightly coagulated; it is accompanied by pain in knees and hands. The next morning the pain was all gone from the back of the head. Other times, joy does strike at me from an entirely exterior source. It’s not always a simple or easy faith- but to find joy in Christ makes being in this world all the more worthwhile. What brings me the greatest joy (obviously a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds show is a very close second) is finding an opportunity to help in a way that is appropriate (as sometimes help is not) and reduces unnecessary suffering. Being able, after financial struggles, to afford to take those I love overseas and experience wonder with them.Saying yes spontaneously. I love evidence-based practice in psychotherapy. While they adhere to and promote Stoic values, they also plumb the depths of other sources of wisdom to find compatible tools for living a good life. Ticking off our categories each day gives us purpose and fulfills our various needs, while finding new ways to tick them off keeps us mentally stimulated and fresh. For example, to complete the physical category for the day, we can change the type of exercise we do every week. The Archer Metaphor: Personal Responsibility Andonce one understands this functional contribution, one is able to seethe value of each thing, how beautifully it contributes to awell-designed whole. Insight into what is in accordance with nature is gained bydetermining, for each thing that obtains, its contribution to, orfunctional role in, the cosmos (rather than by looking at whatregularly happens, or what happens with healthy specimens, etc.). The physical description of eachthing is not a description of its naked physical appearance whenisolated from everything else, but its reintegration into thebeautiful and intelligent design of the cosmos. Hadot thinks Marcus is simply confused inusing the term phantasia for these judgments (the correctterm, which he sometimes uses cf. iv.39, v.26, viii.4, and which hesometimes distinguishes from phantasia cf.viii.47–49, is hupolêpsis or‘assumption’). But in this might lie the answer for finding joy. It feels like it is the lightest of all the senses and can be easily suffocated by the heavy cloak the more sad or serious ones seem to be made up off, and that for some of us seem to always be present. My world was turned upside down, and I saw my way through due in no small part to your music. I'm walking in nature and suddenly there's this one magnificent tree. Most situations that aren't totally terrible can spark joy, but for me it always happens when something very specific strikes me, as if it's the epithome of that situation. He writes about joy being inseparable from grief. Penis health: Identify and prevent problems But thank you still for the simple, beautiful question. Suffering seems to be an absolutely necessary catalyst for joy, on some level at least.And yet, the joy lasts for only a moment, perhaps a day, until a single text, interraction, observation or just my own thoughts rip it apart. I found a moment of joy as I ran my fingers through Martin’s silky, silver hair, for the very first time. I hadn’t really thought about it until you asked, as no doubt like so many others, you just go about your everyday life just doing stuff and you don’t think about what brings you joy. My joy is both transient and eternal; things I deliberately seek, music, books, film and art, and forces that exist around me and make themselves known at the perfect moment.Live music is the joy I seek out most frequently. I know that this may sound like boasting, and yes, I’m proud of the system I’ve assembled – but the truth is that playing my music gives me immense joy, to the point of tears on occasion, and sharing that experience is more than rewarding. My greatest joy is probably experienced on those evenings when an invited guest explores my music collection and marvels at what a decent audio setup can do to your enjoyment of music. To find joy I put myself into naiveté-mode and suddenly it's all adventurously enjoyable.My old rescue hound dog who has kidney disease and heartworms.It is visceral, a feeling of lightness and excitement and does not always connect with conscious thought.Apart from you Nick it’s got to be Pearl Jam.I fucking love them.Instead, buried in the love and generosity of other humans.When you write your purpose statement, it’s not enough to just identify a topic.I was using the example of my morning coffee.Do you think it makes any sense to release music so late, at the age of 51?This startling loss reverberated through our cloistered camp community. I still read books, specially non-fiction, that help me feel not so alone in these times, because I think “if these people that are as smart as to create new paradigms of thought are devastated by what the world is like today, then I’m not so lost”. It has been an enduring, most courageous journey to arrive where I began, a full circle of returning… like the 10 bulls of Zen…So grateful to meet all those painful wounds that got in the way of simply feeling joy. It’s a beautifully strange and unique experience that I can’t replicate in any other way.I’ve also noticed that joy tends to show up when I make space for it, stepping away from the busyness of life. I find joy in moments of synchronicity and grace; in unexpected connections between unlikely people, acknowledgments of humanity between foes, in realisations that we are all connected. That's why I believe that everyone, diagnosed or not, is on such a spectrum.I can find joy on my own or in groups.Am 62 and my reasons for joy have changed about the times!For Aristotle, a eudaimonic life requires, in addition to virtue, some good fortune.If I am hurried, if I am unintentional about the passing moments—that is, if I'm not paying close enough of good, quality attention to whatever is happening, there will be no joy.At this point, I feel it necessary to insert a warning.And I have to admit, the relationship I have now with joy is hard won.Dancing to live music with friends and strangers outside under the stars brings the ultimate joy.The Red Hand Files is probably the only email I receive that makes me smile to see it pop up in my inbox and wonder what you will be pondering on this week. Joy can be an elusive creature and in many ways I feel this, at least in part, is due to ageing. This happens more and more as I grow older with greater awareness of how precious and fleeting time is. Our oldest is feisty, smart and determined, she loves to lead by example. You Sir have been advocating and displaying that ancient ritual for a long time now, so thank you. I have seen joy in the eye of the beholden, and when I looked long enough, the joy transferred over to the next one in step. The utter freedom to sit and not need or want anything and that sense of contentment and then looking up and like a bolt of lightning joy hits me as I see the wind in the trees, feel the sunlight and smell life. Joy finds me that is the only time I experience joy. One is the feeling when a deep pain is slowly starting to get better and you realize that you will be able to handle it and there is a future. A feeling, just out of reach, the lightest of tints on a blank canvas, the most subtle of flavour barely susceptible in an otherwise busy life. I find my joy in small soft and gentle moments. It’s hard work to be disciplined some days.How do I find joy there? Seeing my pre-teen daughter dancing to live music, whirling with wild abandon and without a shred self conscious reservation. I’m mostly happy about that, but it’s also tough to be a solo parent most of the time. He visits her many times a week, but she lives with me. When she suddenly said with her soft voice “I love you to the moon” as she opened her arms to give me a big hug and covered me with kisses as I sometimes do to her. He improved at once, slept the first night after receiving the remedy and was completely cured in nineteen days. Great pain at night, preventing sleep. 1 gave her Arnica a dose every day for three days and requested her also to take a similar dose after each lesson. Repeated examination did not confirm this view and my treatment was in vain for ten days. Another group of patients may experience a type of extreme psychogenic dyspnea, similar to that of Lobelia but more intense, which causes them to inspire deeply, loudly and with great anxiety. Some people will have fear of death, vertigo, fear of fainting, and tachycardia; others may have trembling, arrhythmia, perspiration, unilateral numbness (e.g. numbness of half of the face,) etc. This state of mind appears sometimes after a long period with very severe anxiety attacks. The other day, a storm hit in the middle of my Pilates class, held in an old industrial building in Melbourne. Today the weather is changing and clouds are rolling in in the blue sky. I try to hold on to the miracle of this moment. And I know that the day could come when all I want in the world is to be in a room with him--watching him read a book that delights him. This is right here to be savored at any moment. Those fragile seeming wings with near invisible veins and mega-thin feelers twisting and curling. I find deep joy in marvelling at the beauty of insects. You must be active, working, sweating, giving.Try to be static and hold the joy, and it will soon evaporate away.Honestly, as I grow up and get older I find joy to be overrated. As others who grieve have noted and I've learned myself, it is possible to find a way to live with grief, to go on with that knot of pain inside your chest. In the time that has passed since he died there hasn't been a great deal of joy. A breakthrough of the simple in a horribly complicated life. We have to take care because there can be times when the wind and tides can teach us that without humility we will surely and deservedly get our arses kicked. At other times reaching, as we say, with the breeze on the beam, the bow and 85 tons of oak shouldering waves aside. Sometimes we drift on glass, sometimes we work uphill , tack by tack to windward. I suppose I’m trying to find joy within the act of life itself…a work in progress.For some time I though I was most happy when I was sad, melancholic.Surely, we find joy, in doing the things we love.It's really that simple, so I'll keep it there.It took me a long time to understand that this huge mental breakdown was in fact a strong desire to live and some kind of a survival reflex, something that drew me away from death.Pressure downward and drawing in the thigh or stitching pain in the vagina.The sun hits the clouds about 15 minutes prior to sunrise & i just breathe it all in, talk to my departed loved ones & thank God for a new day. Only seldom will Aconite predict death at a precise moment; such as, "I am going to die when the clock strikes eight." They are absolutely sure that because of their condition they are not going to live very long. The important element in all of these situations is the sudden fear that death may come to the individual or to his beloved ones at any moment. As mentioned above (1.1), Marcus’ Meditations toucheson many more topics than the ones addressed here, but we advance ourunderstanding of Marcus by focusing on one topic at a time and seeinghow his remarks on that topic are related to his overall project ofreminding himself how a Stoic should live. Again, figs, when they are ripest, gape open … and manyother things, if one were to look at them individually, would be farfrom beautiful of appearance, but nevertheless, on account of theirfollowing things that come to be by nature, are well-ordered andeducate our soul. The key ideain piety is that the cosmos as a whole is providentially designed, andso is as good as it can be, and so its parts are as good as they canbe, and so our attitude towards every part ought to beacceptance—or as he sometimes puts it more strongly, love.According to Hadot (1998, 128), Marcus follows Epictetus indistinguishing impulse (hormê) from desire(orexis), and innovates by restricting impulse to the sphereof our activity. I have this feeling when we are making love every time again. That isn’t just the fleeting happiness that comes with certain moments—it’s rather a steady state, a constant undercurrent in my life. Ordinary moments elevated to joy by noticing, aware that they're being woven brightly into the thread of your life.No secret but a kind of magic to it. I percieve joy as the result of a positive reaction to my activity towards anothers. I am committed to laugh out loud whenever appropriate This brings me joy, confirms my joy and I hope, creates joy and delight It doesn't last and it requires to be present for the others and for my own self at the same time.It doesn't happen without rehearsals and efforts before. It is surrendering to the energy of a moment- a large wave crashes onto the seashore, orgasmic ecstasy, watching your child sleep. I often feel like we lie to ourselves about little things to get through the day - what we like, how we present ourselves, our beliefs.. It might be in a quick stroll through the green field behind my neighborhood or in a pub with friends—those simple, everyday things that are always around us. It might come from hugging my kids and savoring those moments, or from walking barefoot on the beach with the sound of waves in the background. It could be in a song I love to hear, or in a Tshirt that makes me feel good to wear. In the moments when I do what I feel I am designed to do - give - I feel more joy than any amount of self service or personal ambition could possibly offer me. Contentment has yet to last an entire day for me (David left this earth eight years ago), so my answer is to recognize and savor moments of contentment on one's journey to moments of joy. But, when those lifelong basics (music, specially) commune with my older self joy, I feel complete. Today, observing a happy couple, a dog or cat treated nicely, travelling anywhere without a fixed schedule, just feeling some balance in the surroundings gives me joy. Even more than my private enjoyment of listening to the music and devouring books, podcasts, and films about them, my peak moments of Beatle joy are when I find myself in the company of other fans gathered at the holy sites of Beatle history in Liverpool and London. I like to bewilder myself and others, too, while people love squeezing you into one of their little boxes and sometimes we help them unconsciously. I felt great joy when he started talking at least to us, his parents.I was conscripted a couple of month ago, as if I haven't experienced enough hardships in my life. I agree that joy is an earned thing brought into focus by what we have lost.Before the full-scale Russian invasion, I lived a happy life in Mariupol - only I did not realise that. I feel lucky to be able to not take any experience for granted, even waking up in the morning and having the sun in my eyes! I don’t quite believe in an afterlife, so I don’t take these small moments for granted at all. Joy is found everywhere, the sun rising in the morning, the birds making their sounds, the innocent smile while passing a stranger on the sidewalk, texting a loved one good morning….it’s all there waiting for us, we just have to pause and take notice. For people who live a full and creative life, it's often a goal or chase for the next thing, which could bring us happiness and fulfillment. Not exclusively, but certainly the Red Hand Files bring me joy. I always try to find solace in music. It gives me some peace of mind, and has been a interesting experience. I'm trying to have more time without anything else than my wife, my future kid; without any distraction. Aim for a box that’s low enough for easy access; sometimes, it’s just about finding the right fit. Feeding them small meals multiple times a day helps support energy levels as they grow. Bringing a kitten into your home is an exciting adventure filled with playful moments and cuddly snuggles. Your vet can determine whether your dog has BPH by feeling his prostate gland during a rectal examination. I got super-sick, quit my exciting work (which I loved!), and stopped sleeping for a while. ” (She even bought me a sweat shirt at a thrift store that says “Coolest Uncle Ever” Can’t wait to don that on her birthday lol). My sister said to me soon after, “it’s weird, she hates everyone, but she LOVE’S you! Point of fact, it turned out she also lived about a block away from me in No Ho. And still, I went into the kitchen with my roommate, my dear friend, and we slathered a red pepper and eggplant spread over toast and read each other passages from books, meditations from much wiser thinkers on life and all its incumbent beauty and sorrow. If I am having a 'joyless' day, I gravitate towards one or multiples of these and I come out the other side AOK. My deepest joys are found with my deepest loves. Family relationships feel strained in every direction and I need to undergo treatments for a very treatable, but not curable variety of leukemia that is a pain in the ass. I read this question on a fairly unhappy day and it sent me wondering. My fifth book “Lorettas letzter Trip” (Lorettas last trip) will be published in a few days. At times that troubles me, for what good is a writer when no one reads her words? I can't go in and seek them, I have to fall softly backwards into the lake and let life uncover them for me. So joy is dynamic state which is hard to find, yet infectious. The deep furrows of sorrow and the peaks of joy that you write about and sublimate in song live in the same fruit bowl on your kitchen counter. Hopefully in someway, we can all find things in our life that bring us joy. I think in the past I have been slightly wary and dismissive of these moments as being the result of some minor psychological malfunction. It descends for a few moments and then disappears. For me joy is something that plops into my life seemingly without any conjuring up on my part. So here is another good question to keep close – how to keep welcoming the world and nurture an open heart?! Although not compliant with any of our life strategies these wonders seem to be innate qualities of an open heart. It appears to me that joy as other precious life’s wonders (kindness, generosity, creativity?…) do not depend on our treasure hunt effort but rather are undeserved, too readily available, spontaneous and fleeting. I love the question, so gladly add few additional ‘? I guess in this tenderness lives joy as a seedling ready to pop up in every moment.It's my profession to bring people laughter and joy, but it's also my inner urge to be a clown, to make mistakes, having fun with problems and being curious as a child.I feel like Jesus feeding the five thousand with bird seed.Perhaps joy only comes when we are finally able to accept the feelings of grief, pain and shame and rest in our ability to cope with those feelings rather than avoid them.Quite simply it is in the routine of my morning; meditation and the 5 tibetan rites.None of it matters… cry, laugh or be embarrassed… that’s how people grow to love each other.And then, with each exposure, you need more and more and more to feel anything at all.Today I was singing out loud your song "God's Hotel" while driving alone in a countryside highway.Apis will be indicated in cases in which the kidneys suddenly fail and from one day to the next an enormous edema develops in the lower limbs. Prioritize Pet Health My children that i spent time with. Immersing myself in my favourite music,playing albums or ‘becoming’ my absolute fave songs-somebody’s watching by the Boys next door FILLS me with adrenalin and absolute JOY! I find joy in the flow state of creativity. My joy lights up inside when my grown up children playingly, temporarily revisit their childhood, rolling around on the floor, wrestling, screaming, laughing. It’s not so much a perennial state; the trick is to notice it when it’s there. In addition to their normal, everyday food, try giving them small amounts of carrots, squash, broccoli, cucumbers, apples, pears, or berries. After a few days of giving them food and water, they’ll start to trust you! They’ll be comforted by your day-to-day sounds, but will be stressed out by loud noises and lots of hubbub right outside their space. Your little dude (or dudette) needs a safe home in which to explore and feel comfortable. My dark sense of humor also gives me joy as i am always laughing at some of the shit i do or say. It brings a level of joyous clarity to my being & keeps me from probably killing myself or others. Simplicity and contentment are the keys to joy. Our home is filled with joy and laughter. Our two daughters are married to excellent young men and have given us 5 beloved grandsons including twins. I am not doing anything significantly different in the garden, but the work has become something that brings me joy.There are times and circumstances when things move very slowly and the obstacles seem insurmountable but the remnants from those struggles and challenges still glisten as time passes because you take the time to notice - notice joys.Clarke remarks that 'the application of a sponge saturated with a hot solution of Calendula after delivery gives the greatest comfort to the patient.'My joy is in moments where i forget to overthink.He fleshesout ‘acting justly’ in terms of acting communally (ix.31),and adds that wherever one lives, one should live as a citizen of thecosmic city (x.15).For me to find joy is to make a connection.I read your question for post 300, and I think I see that the question truly comes from you. But you try even in the darkness times.That's why I love you, you sing to me anytime I needed to heart it. Brief but spectacular and unpredictable, like horror and error, life itself, knowing that in both joy and sadness there is another human being who will be there for you and sometimes without thinking about it will give you a hand. My wife and I, who are expecting our first child in six months, have countless moments of joy, but they're built on the layers that have formed our relationship together for almost 20 years. The how is by recognising the moments – even if I’m struggling for whatever reason, I see these experiences for what they are. It's in those moments that joy becomes a choice, a conscious act of resilience or gratitude. I find it in the simple moments that might slip by unnoticed. For me, that’s why joy is felt so acutely in these moments. For me, joy is most keenly felt in moments of humility or vulnerability. The moment when I stumble over the sidewalk and look around for witnesses and find one with questioning eyes looking at me. I find joy when I hear something in music that brings goosebumps and ecstacy and I an utterly convinced that only I can hear it. I also tend to romanticize bad events more than the good ones.I find joy in music—dancing! I hope you have seen the joy on our faces when you've shared your music with us, and I hope that for you is a realization of your sought joy. And to witness or partake in all forms of love, necessarily involving others, I find great joy.Interestingly, and to your point, joy has often been thought of in part as an action. I fell like I'm a part of something and I fell joy, or something close to it. For some time I though I was most happy when I was sad, melancholic. I gain joy from thought of the old man, the fat tears that still fall for him, the whiff of cheap musk that puts him in the room, odd coloured eyes and special brew grin, fag papers and betting slips. I gain joy from the madness of others, from sentences and voices, words connected together that makes the world ok for a minute or two. I gain joy from my kid’s sweaty feet, tic tac toes and wobbly teeth, felt tips on fingers, old bananas down the back of the sofa. My deepest regrets in life are connected to moments where I was almost called to be giving and I refused out of self interest or hesitation. It is in the act of reaching out to someone I know who needs love that I feel the greatest joy. Great gifts and opportunities have been given to me over my 32 years, and yet I often feel overwhelmed with a deep sadness that can make joy an almost impossible feeling. The greatest joys in my life come from the effort of reaching to people who are in need. It is always there, hidden in the small moments of life. In the small things, the trivial things, the little moments of daily life. I love her dearly and I am amazed by her strength and courage and her joy for life. Right now, it brings me tremendous joy to watch my 9 year old daughter who has to deal with her share of challenges and hence feeling of otherness grow increasingly at peace and accepting of herself and into a resilient person, embracing her perceived weirdness. I thought the opportunity to be alone and to do exactly what I wanted to do would would be a grand time ,but there was something missing, not chaos of family life but what I now realise was the joy of having my family around me. The whole existence of music that reaches my soul and my body makes me feel alive again. Your question about joy reminded me of one of my favourite poems by Mary Oliver. My joy today was to talk to my friend, who i thought i had somehow lost connection with in the conundrum that is everyday life. My son died seven years ago and it was a long time before I felt any untamed joy, then for a while my life was filled with awe. After a recent heartbreak I have not felt a single thing when I see or experience any of these wonders of nature. While I’m there, I simply just sit, fully present in the moment and what’s around me. A baby laughs, morning dew drops on leaves, a blurred image you didn’t mean to take, a smiling person, a piece of toast. The warm rush of content brought about by an unspoken shared moment of truth, like the sublime beauty of a sunrise. It is not brought about by a possession or a thing acquired but rather a moment. I find my joy when i lay down next to the ocean, close my eyes and just drift away with the waves. There was a period in my life when I did performance art. The ultimate joy is when you challenge yourself, step out of the comfort zone a little, and discover something new in the process about yourself and, most importantly, the world around you. I’m a mess, a bit of a numpty a lot of the time, a miserable offender sometimes, but desired regardless, or even because of all those things.I’m not great at explaining this. I think Alison is saying that this discovery is joy. I could tell you "trivially" that I find my joys in the smiles of my daughters, in the daily understandings and forgiveness of my wife, I find them when I manage to forgive myself. Joy visits me when I decide to be the best part of someone else’s day. Joy is being at one with the natural order of things, it’s relinquishing control; Running through Casablanca airport to make a connecting flight puppeteered by counter staff “If you want to make it, do you know Ussain Bolt? So I’ll always wait patiently for joy to arrive. Joy maybe a moment but it can have colour, taste, touch or sound. One day I was waist deep in the Cacapon River in West Virginia. For me joy, can and is always elusive. I'm also starting to relax more, and talk to my hyper-awareness and I know that joy will rear it's head again. I find joy in the cracks of the pavement.Specifically the cracks where the weeds are growing.Weeds are optimism incarnate. Nearly all connections are formed through language, and I think that ours is especially so; we are each other's oasis in a land (Georgia, USA) and in lives where we've very infrequently found understanding. I make my partner laugh a lot with goofy wit, and that's always a joy (she guffaws!). I used to make up languages, but nowadays I'm mostly in English. I find joy when I find myself in the only place I want to be. Your responses rarely disappoint.Two years ago I lost my partner, my dog, the house I lived in. I have written in from time to time over the past two or so years and it has helped me immeasurably to know you have read and listened to me, along with so many others that write in. I find joy in the patience it takes waiting for a reply from an old and dear friend, our relation deepened and renewed after twenty or so years.It has been a long and hard road to find this patience, to find such joy. I find joy in the patience it takes to walk with my energetic 18 month, 36kg dog, Holly. I find joy in patience, in the unfettered calm and warmth that lies just beneath my anger, my sadness, my loneliness. Although if we use our head then the heart is an organ that pumps blood. I truly hope you will add to my joy with bringing THE WILD GOD to Israel. Recently we almost lost my sister, by a miracle she is here and I find joy in hearing my parents & her laughing while eating breakfast. This is the essence of joy for me It needs to be bled and beaten out of us by life’s relentless testing. But sometimes these moments don’t bring me joy – I’m irritable, annoyed, preoccupied, worrying, distracted, or whatever verb you choose to equate with not being truly attentive or present. I love how she tucks her teddies into bed at night or the feeling when I see her eyes gently flutter closed after bedtime stories and cuddles. Art, poetry, music, thoughts, feelings, sorrow, love. Stop always thinking about tomorrow, you will miss the joy of today. So I’m listening to it and laughing and thinking that maybe it’s all just some glorious coincidence.ISo then I’m thinking about joy. I still find joy every time I open a hive or watch them going about their business. Joy is a positive emotion that I experience by listening to music that touches me or watching my toddler grandson being naughty. Because joy is what you have to experience, sadness happens to you, often unexpectedly. I tend to find my moments of joy are largely created by a great mixture of nostalgia, comfort, and great expectations being exceeded and I most often experience this when at a gig. I find joy in watching my dog run, in feeling the wind on my face, in hearing about people rescuing and protecting animals. Every day of your life, you’re going to feel some kind of pain. Everyone experiences thoughts, feelings, and impulses that can make living difficult and frustrating. Yet they need particular care that is sometimes a joy and sometimes a nuisance. I have creative directions and work I love and people. We humans, or at least the ones I know, fall in and out of joy all the time, and it hurts when I can’t find my way to it. She had a sense of style that was innate because she did not pick it up in East Texas, and absolutely loved to shop at Neiman Marcus when money would allow (and sometimes when it didn't). Even in my most morose state there is comfort in knowing I always have music to help me understand life and myself and that is invaluable to me In a state of rage or delirium he may lose control however, and actually strike those around him, biting people or objects, such as a spoon. He may even feel compelled to grab the hair of an unknown bystander, but he restrains himself. Anxiety is not generally marked in Belladonna cases, though it may appear sometimes alternating with rage, or in a crowd, or during menses. Healthdirect Free Australian health advice you can count on. 20 years ago my children brought me great joy every day. They may bring me frustration, hopelessness, feelings of isolation, or might go completely unappreciated. I can list dozens of small things that bring me joy every day. I am relatively young (early 30's), and therefore fully expect to be proven wrong about everything several more times in my life, but I've developed a habit of seeing things this way. I spent a decent portion of my life struggling to find joy. I can let them wash over me, and feel confident that it's temporary. What happened that made you feel awkward about laughing out loud? What happened down the road, that made you think that something could not be funny a second time. I guess I choose to be happy/joyful with what I can affect.Playing djembe with friends, reading a book, knowing my kids are happy and safe, a nice cheese. Time seems to move at a slower pace, and life becomes very simple.But when I'm not on an island - a well-timed cup of tea, a glittering wildflower in a hedgerow or a catching line in a book or song can do the trick.Slán agus go raibh maith agat (bye & thanks!) It’s seeing my children bloom, and go out into the wide world and experience it independently.It’s listening to a beautiful, or sad, or happy, or angry (but music that comes from deep and honest passion) with a glass of fine malt whiskey. So eating well; lots of water; good sleep; good friends; letting love in; walking my dogs; sharing my fears; sharing my dreams; listening to live music; drinking coffee; having a glass of wine; a bit of chocolate. I am on a steady decline, but each day I see the clear whites of my eyes I feel alive and happy and glad. It means I am ok, and I can handle a less than perfect lived life with enough water and sleep and love from my husband, friends and family and pooches. After such an explosive release of uncontrolled emotion, they feel ill for quite sometime. But at other times they will try to conceal their misery by maintaining a joyful fagade, especially if they are amorously interested in somebody. This combination of clumsiness and sexual ardor leaves them feeling constantly insecure about their partner. These people become so involved in sexual play and enjoy it to such an extent that they will become lewd. She actually can enjoy both her husband and her lover. I don't know why I'm here, nor what circumstances led me to decide that the walls of my previous life were closing in on me. I find joy in being so interested, so absorbed, by someone or something outside my often spiraling mind that I temporarily forget my worries and uncertainty and occasional disgust with the world. It is precisely about little things in the unseen corners that bring you joy. One must first define what joy means to them. I think I found a deeper contact with nature first. I thank nature for being able to stay in contact with myself, with my body and my mind. By aligning actions with reason, one fosters inner harmony and resilience, regardless of the storms life may bring. Embracing virtue allows individuals to navigate life with a calm and rational mind. At the core of Stoicism is the idea that virtue is the highest good, serving as the key to a flourishing life. Rooted in the teachings of philosophers like Zeno of Citium, Seneca, and Epictetus, Stoicism is not just a theoretical framework; it's a practical guide to leading a life of virtue and resilience. These things are what can create joint, positive, awesome, sad, healing connections, and this is joy to me. But I would extend it further than just artistic expression - the idea how we can make a nice dinner for our partners or keep the day inspiring and interesting for our children falls into the same realm. I think that is why we feel that artistic expressions can connect to us; they take away the isolation, they open us a brief and often microscopic window into a greater 'Weltgeist' (regardless how fragmented). Otherwise, chasing joy in the external world can become a shallow tail-chasing activity. That too, will I suspect be quite an emotional experience, one that will illicit joy amongst other feelings for you.Music in particular has been central to my life for as long as I can recall. Remembering moments with dear people, moments that have given me joy, I preserve them from the all-devouring vortex of time. This collectively shared experience, that we are alive right now and that this is our time to live, gives me joy.This might seem simplistic, but for me, dwelling on this fact opens the door to find joy in other aspects of life. I cried, there was no stopping me crying, no take a deep breath, my tears were a force of nature; unstoppable.So, joy, for me, is digging for the truth. From there, we find joy.When my father was dying, with whom I had a difficult relationship, I went to see him what turned out to be one last time in hospital. We chose joy from this, living a profound togetherness of intensity in touch, conversation, laughter and experiences. My capacity for joy is undiminished, but I have brought myself so much pain by not being able to let it pass through and away. While I can see that ‘snatching joy from the jaws of despair’ is one way of seeing or experiencing joy, when joy comes it sometimes can show us what we have been longing for without even knowing. Probably pretty apt descriptions of my resultant mood as this was not the first time this occurred.Then one day weeks later, a mom and a little chubby 5 year old came in to see me. He was both mischievous and angelic looking if you know what I mean. I found my joy when my first child was born 5 weeks ago today. I have found that rather than seek joy, I concentrate more on finding several instances of delight. I lured them to Cornwall over the school holidays and took them out to sea on a catamaran where my nephews lay on the net staring into the ocean their faces wet with seaspray. This is joy--honey-sweet, silent, all-seeing. Happy because I stop being afraid or anxious and feel free in myself, in the world, and at peace with it. A good night sleep.Sharing food made with care and love with loved ones.Seeing my kids do things I did at their age. More than that and happy to add to the genius shitshow of joy which will now be blissfully heading your way. I believe it was Camus who described joy as a moral obligation. Early October marks 19 years clean and sober, away from the darkest of days. I found joy in beekeeping during lockdown in Melbourne in 2020. Listening to Charles Mingus and —sometimes — to the late Miles Davis5. When out of the blue, in the midst of the all the more darkening and discouraging world around, when a hope for finding a soulmate is at its lowest, and all the good days seem to be in the farthest corners of the memory, some stranger says “How do you do? In the morning, on my way to work, I pass a bridge. How my mum looked that time we were swimming and she relaxed completely, unaware even that she was happy. A year ago her father and I finally decided to break up (it had been on its way for a long time). And that gave me a deep sense of joy and peace.This last year has not been easy for us. In that moment I thought to myself – there is no place I would rather be right now than right here with her in my arms. Waiting for you to be still long enough to feel the space in between. Joy is there, singing and dancing and laughing, waiting for you to turn you head and heart towards her. It peeks up at you in the moment you see a butterfly. It finds you in that space between thought, when the wind has picked up and it’s breeze caressing your cheek. Raising your arms over your head to feel the majesty of the trees. It’s always there, but I never take it for granted, and I thank the universe for it every day. Sometimes I go hunting for it and when I find it, I tend it and it grows. Sometimes I glance sideways and there it is. I am in joy when I'm acting spontaneous and a bit childish sometimes (in a "not take myself too seriously" way).I believe we were created for joy so it isn't so much the matter of finding it. I also feel joyfull when I listen to that inside voice of conscience instead of my own rants and worries. The smell of sea fog on a rare balmy morning here in Dunedin, New Zealand or the smell of satisfaction of my freshly mown lawns, that is a pure unadulterated smug smell of joy. You wouldn’t even know what happiness was if you hadn't also experienced disappointment, loss and sorrow! Joy was fleeting and near exclusively, brought about through some external mechanism or influence.A voice in my head would constantly push a question into my consciousness and yearning for joy ask, "what do I want?". I resonate with the full, privileged and unendangered life, with the little joys often eluding me, so it is clear joy is not found in these things. Again.And so I find joy when I am open enough to let it in.Most often it is walking in the park with my dogs in the early dark of morning. Output: Reduced anxiety I find joy by spending time with people who make the fibres in my body stand on end as if electricity has suddenly been pulsed through me, even if I don't know exactly why. My joy most often comes by stealth, catching me unawares in little moments that are not sought out. As I march towards ( well stumble and roll) towards my mnd impending doom I find heart exploding joy in my beautiful young sons smile. I find the most joy from witnessing the people and creatures I love experiencing joy - especially if they are in their element being creative or enjoying the beauty of the world. Getting absorbed into nature is alwaysa great way to find joy, i live on a river and do cold plunges, and am surrounded by forest. I've recently discovered, through great loss and great pain, not to attempt to seek joy directly. Prompts me to notice that i too am feeling the joy. In the absence I am an adornment, and I love when I sneeze on the bus and a stranger says, 'bless you.' Even on the days that I wake up with the view of myself as twisted and wicked and wrong, I am loved by a group of fierce and wonderful people. Reading back my words there is joy for me in art and music, and the written word. When I play piano (including your own) I find joy, when I paint, I find joy, learning to play Bass I find joy, rocking out on drums (if only briefly) I find joy. I too struggle to find joy in the his confusion called life. It's in my experiencing beauty, reverence, emerging life (my granddaughter taking the cake on that front currently), open heartedness and acceptance (of a more grace like kind). And I have miraculously had a few moments of fun, thank goodness. But joy feels quite out of reach. There are simply countless possibilities.I guess that's how most of us feel and I'm full of joy if it works. It’s found in handwritten letters to those who can no longer read them or in the reverent silence of an old song.In essence, joy is an act of both defiance and acceptance, a way to let simplicity's tender grace thrive amid life's struggles. The spaces left by loss let joy enter like light through a shattered window. They always pick the stormy time of early Spring to bloom, and deliberately sacrifice themselves to gales after little more than a week of beauty. I miss my husband every day, but how lucky am I. They fascinate me, and I can’t wait to see what kind of people they want to be. I have great freedom, I’m extremely good at it and I love working from home. Joy, every day, that I have become a writer, a freelancer, I work for myself on all kinds of projects, including my own. On that consciousness, I recognize the other as part of myself and stop feeling alone. The fact that you will be in Seattle on my mom’s birthday May 12th 2025 also makes me gleam with hope for the future and seeing the Bad Seeds live. My dog brings me joy too, he’s a fat old black Pug and he stares at me in amazement every day. I realize he knows true joy and I love sharing that. May not-be-jump-up-and-down joy, but it feels good and that's enough.