Because Others: Joy and Your Craft
Despite the persistently aching fear I’ve felt about not having an income these past two months, the faith that I am doing the right thing keeps me moving forward.
When you find what makes you happy, you have to go all in.
Commitment to that fact must supersede all discomfort.
all in? photopin.com
You have to let you know that you will do what it takes to look after you.
You, you, you.
You deserve it.
Especially because so few people are willing to commit to themselves. Especially because so few people are joyful. Because so few allow life in the living.
We have to be the ones that cover the cost. We have to be the ones that pay back to the universe all that she is consistently trying to give. We cannot put our heads down and accept drudgery simply because that path, at least, is mappable.
this guy loves drudgery so much there’s just no time for joy! photopin.com
I write this because I have to remind myself of it constantly.
We deserve to spend this extremely short amount of time on earth enjoying ourselves.
I don’t mean that hedonistically; Enjoyment is often useless without service.
Part of the beauty in doing the things we love is that love creates joy and joy’s natural inclination is to turn itself outward.
Joy wants to share itself. Fancy that.
It takes no work to push ourselves toward service when we are joyful. Even if it’s only through smiling at a stranger or picking up a piece of trash…because little nice things are desperately lacking in life.
Wouldn’t you say?
joy like noone’s watching. photopin.com
Love and joy cause open our eyes to the world rather than turn our vision constantly inward and listen to that critical ego voice constantly telling us what we’re doing wrong or what we should be doing more of.
When you do what you love, the odds are that you will want to share it. Even if it’s just a little. With just one person. Or maybe just your cat.
In fact:
Use the time you spend in service as a measure of whether or not you are truly finding joy in your craft. If not, maybe it’s a good idea to reconsider the things to which you are devoting yourself?
When I write, I want to share it; I’ve never really had that feeling with other things.
I hope that as the writing helps me, it connects me somehow to the hearts of my readers and finds some way to help them, too. Even if it’s just that reader smiling because they think I’m full of shit.
a little morning journal action
Whether you find joy in writing, computer programming, dancing, accounting, plumbing, whatever, a happy heart will spread itself. The product of your joy will help people. It doesn’t have to be in big ways.
It may just be positive energy radiating off that big happy brain of yours.
Effortless giving—we’re being lazy here.
Be joyfully lazy with me.
Won’t you?
So…have you found your thing?
Do you agree with this idea of wanting naturally to share joy? Admittedly it’s my own theory (although I’m sure it’s shared by many), but I often have this habit of thinking I’m right…
So what do you think??
Despite the persistently aching fear I’ve been feeling about not having an income these past two months, the faith that I am doing the right thing keeps me moving forward.
When you find what makes you happy, you have to go all in.
Commitment to that fact must supersede all discomfort.
You have to let you know that you will do what it takes to look after you.
You, you, you. You deserve it.
Especially because so few people are willing to commit to themselves. Especially because so few people are joyful. Because so few allow life in the living.
We must be the ones to cover the cost. We have to be the ones to repay all that we’re given. We cannot bow our heads and accept drudgery simply because that path, at least, is mappable.
I write this because I have to remind myself of it constantly.
We deserve to spend this extremely short amount of time on earth enjoying ourselves. I don’t mean that hedonistically. Frankly, enjoyment is often useless without service.
Part of the beauty in doing the things we love is that love itself creates joy, and joy’s natural inclination is to turn itself outward. It wants to share itself.
Fancy that.
It should take no work to push ourselves toward service when we are joyful. Even if it’s only smiling at a stranger or picking up a piece of trash. Little nice things are desperately lacking in life.
When you do what you love, the odds are that you will want to share it. Even if it’s just a little. With just one person. Or maybe just your cat.
In fact:
Use the time you spend in service as a measure of whether or not you are truly finding joy in your craft. If not, maybe it’s a good idea to reconsider the things to which you are devoting yourself?
When I write, I want to share it; I’ve never really had that feeling with other things.
I hope that as the writing helps me, it connects me somehow to the hearts of my readers and finds some way to help them, too. Even if it’s just thereader smiling because they think I’m full of shit.
a little of my morning journal action
Whether you find joy in writing, computer programming, dancing, accounting, plumbing, whatever, a happy heart will spread itself. The product of your joy will help people. It doesn’t have to be in big ways. It doesn’t have to save the world.
It may simply come from positive energy radiating off that big happy brain of yours.
Effortless giving—we’re being lazy here, and it’s great.
Be joyfully lazy with me.
Won’t you?
What do you think?? Leave a comment, then sign up to get an email when I post something new!
I agree so much, absolutely. Especially at work I feel like no matter how much the day sucks, you act happy to make everyone else’s day better. If you have enough positivity then everyone is in such a better mood it becomes effortless. Life would suck without happy people (:
Oh you are the best type of person to work with; you’re one of the rare ones! Not sure if you’ll read this, but if so: do you have a job where you see people often? It must be so hard interacting when I assume the majority of people tend to bring their outside lives into the work world. Or maybe that makes it easier somehow?
Some people choose to see the ugliness in this world, the disarray, but you choose to see the beauty.
well, I guess it all depends on which glasses I’m wearing…but I do try. Oh boy do I slip down the rabbit hole often, but I’m interested to see if it happens less now that I’m doing something I believe I’ll love for a long time?
Why is God a “he” if he’s one and only? There would be no need for a penis, since he couldn’t reproduce, so wouldn’t something gender neutral be an “it” rather than a “he”? Just saying. Unless it actually impregnates women, that would explain a lot.
WAit, I’m confused…I didn’t refer to god in this post? But also, I don’t believe in a god…Apart from that, I agree with your sentiments fully!
my friends and i honk our horns at random people, waving and smiling. sOo fun!! At first they act confused, but they cant help but smile.
i love that!! so fun. They’re probably so primed to react aggressively and then see you waving and the demeanor changes in a heartbeat. Happy confusion!
What you are saying is in accordance with a lot of philosophers, that we must maximize our utility, something I wholeheartedly agree with. Imagine if our society addressed this issue on a greater level, how much potential we could unearth.
you’re telling me! It’s amazing how wrapped up we tend to get in our own business without remembering how connected we all are. Service has to be #1…no, I don’t think I live that way–yet–but I’m going to try! Thank you for the comment 🙂
20211123 05:25
Smiling is infectious,
You catch it like the ‘flu.
Someone smiled at me today
And I started smiling too.
I passed around the corner
And someone saw my grin,
When he smiled I realized I had passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile
And I realized it’s worth,
A single smile just like mine
Could travel right around The Earth!
So if you feel a smile begin
Don’t leave it undetected,
Let’s start an epidemic quick!
And get the whole World infected.
By Aenon Ye Mouse
Date : unknown.
Yes Joy seeks out others to share in the experience.
You do not believe in God. Thousands and millions do not. Many are unfulfilled and wonder why.
The God of the Jews and of the Muslims is the same God.
This matters not. I am neither Jewish nor a Muslim. Any relationship with God is a personal one.
No person can tell you what to think or feel as those thoughts and feelings are yours and yours alone. Including a choice not to believe.
For me, I have had experiences where I should not have survived. To look at me you would never have known. There are no visible injuries. You would never know. People close to me do not know. I have for myself my own truth and that is very comforting to me.
Every day is a bonus. Every person gets twenty-four hours. It is what you do with your twenty-four hours that counts. The millionaire and the lowest paid worker are equally rich in this commodity. Time is a great equalizer.