I heard a great acronym/explanation for JOY the other day. It's

Jesus
Others
Yourself

Explanation: Put Jesus first, others second and yourself third and you can experience the joy of the Lord.

You may not agree, but some of my friends have found this to be very true in their lives. Hope it helps and is an inspiration to some of you. Actually, I hope it's an inspiration to all of you, but unfortuantely, I figure it won't please everybody. Too bad, eh? You can pick up on the joy later on down the road, though if you wish, and there's other ways to find it, too, but this is one way and I thought I'd share it with y'all.

Geo.

Thats a very accurate acronym. If more people would do that then they could have joy in their life.

Amen to that...

Jesus is an idea. A character in myth or histiry that may or may not even be real. Nobody even knows what he looks like.

But if you replace that with "Love" you will get the same formula.

Love
others
yourself

But I am not sure that formula is even a good one in the pantheistic view because since we are all connected, Others and yourself are the same.

Self = Others

And if you cannot first love yourself you cannot love others.

My heart always entertains joy.

JB

Well I always heard JOY being described as an unexpected delight.

Joy is something I feel even when life seems tough and even in the face of grief.

I have often wondered how I could be stricken with grief and still have a feeling of joy in the center of my being.

It is because the daily experiences of life come and go and emotions and feelings are tools to measure the situations we experience.

Joy is present for me when I feel free. It is my soul that feels free and joyful. Joy is present when I feel grateful for the smallest things in my life.

The thing that destroys joy is bondage and oppression. The soul cannot abide that. We are meant to be free. Depression is repressed anger from the bondage you feel.

Freedom is absolutely paramount. Without it, there is no joy.

JB