Cultivating a Joyous Life

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Hello!

I was thinking about what to talk about for this month and the phrase, "fighting for joy" kept cropping up. It's a phrase a pastor of mine used to use. He used to talk about how joy doesn't just float in. Not most of the time. Most of the time, we have to fight for it.

So, that's what this month's theme is going to be. Fighting for Joy. Because honestly, I need to be reminded as much as anyone that joy is worth fighting for. If we don't make an effort to seek joy, then we are living an apathetic life. We're just content to float throughout our days, hoping that somehow, someway joy will drift in and lift our hearts out of our circumstances.

Since joy must be fought for, chances are, we're going to get scratched up. We're going to be battle weary, and there will be times that we will feel like it's just too much work. But what is the alternative? 

Lately, I've felt myself start to drift. I'm tired. Everything in life seems too much of an effort. Joy really isn't that important. So I place it on the back burner. I'll get around to it one of these days. 

Except one of those days grows into one of those months and then, before I realize it, years have gone by. I might not be miserable, but I'm sure not as joyful as I could be, had I fought for it. 

Last week I talked about what it means to till the earth, to go through the hard spots of life, the places where we don't want to be. 

This week I want to pull out another farming-based metaphor: "Cultivating a Joyous Life." Cultivation is like tilling. To cultivate means to prepare the land for gardening. Before we harvest joy, we have to prepare the ground for it. 

One simple way to cultivate joy is be thankful. I'm not just talking about being thankful in your heart, although that is important too. I'm talking about being actively thankful. Write down that list of ten things to be thankful the first thing in the morning. Tell someone thank you who has been kind to you. If you are irritated with a person, look for the good. See what you can be thankful for. There are always reasons to be thankful if we just look.

Is there a way you cultivate joy?

Drop a comment below. I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time....

Julia Garcia / Arysta Henry



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