An S. I. K.
[Samuel] Johnson, even in his later years, delighted in rolling downhill.
— William Kirk Kilpatrick, Psychological Seduction
Category: Joy
10 Posts
Imagination
As we are made in the image of the Great Creator — part of that is our imagination, to keep us excited with living. Never do I want to lose that!!!
— Colleen Jenks, letter, July 1, 1984
Let Go
Don’t try to hold on to this mountaintop experience. Indeed, never try to hold on to anything, but let go immediately and willingly in order to be ready to receive the new joys and riches which I am preparing for you.
— Hannah Hurnard, Winged Life
Happiness in Marriage
The most potent predictor of being happily married is being happy before you marry. Marriage does not make you happy, although the prospect of sharing life with a loved one can provide motivation to make yourself happy. What marriage certainly offers is someone on whom to blame your unhappiness.
— Steven Stosny, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/anger-in-the-age-entitlement/200905/marriage-and-the-power-be-happy
Everyone Benefits from True Happiness.
Happiness, by its very nature, encourages trust, spontaneity, optimism, and enthusiasm — all of which bring great gifts. In particular, when you dare to be happy, you find that people instinctively gravitate to you and like you, although they may not know why. Maybe it’s something to do with your smile. Whatever it is, your happiness is an inspiration and a gift to everyone. Everyone benefits from true happiness . . . everyone benefits from your happiness.
— Robert Holden, PhD, Happiness Now! p. 34
Gloriously Inhabit All the Ages You Are!
The opposite of old isn’t young. The opposite of old is new. As long as we continue to experience the new, we will gloriously inhabit all of the ages that we are.
~ SARK, posted on Facebook, August 4, 2009
Many Causes for Joy
He that hath so many causes for joy, and so great, is very much in love with sorrow and peevishness who loses all these pleasures and chooses to sit down on his little handful of thorns.
— Amy Carmichael, Gold By Moonlight
First, Love.
Try, if you can, to hate someone and be happy. Try to resent somebody and be joyous. Try to be angry at someone and be peaceful. Try to judge someone and feel free. Try to control someone and not feel controlled. Try to be fully independent and intimate. Try to cheat somebody and feel safe. It can’t happen, because what you do to another you’re doing to yourself. Love works! . . .
First, love! Love and enjoy everything! If you’re waiting to be happy before you start being loving, then you’ll find that you’re in for a very long wait. Similarly, if you’re waiting to be successful before you’re truly loving and generous, then you’ll be greatly disappointed and frustrated. There’s no such thing as happiness without love first, health without love first, peace of mind without love first, or freedom without love first. First, love! . . .
Resentment costs too much. Make no mistake — you are the one who has to pay the bill for the resentment you hold on to. It is your nervous system, your lungs, your muscles, your heart, your perception, and your mind that deteriorates and decays during every moment you try to defend yourself with hate. . . .
The problem with resentment is that you cannot be resentful and happy. There’s an old saying: “If your heart has room for one enemy, it is not a safe place for a friend.” You cannot hate and be happy. You cannot hate and love. You cannot hate and win. You cannot hate and be free. You cannot hate and be present. You cannot hate and have a future. The bottom line is . . .
You cannot carry resentment and peace of mind at the same time.
As long as you still value resentment, forgiveness will have no appeal. Forgiveness only has appeal for those who are interested in freedom, love, peace of mind, and joy.
— Robert Hold, PhD, Happiness Now! p. 185, 207-208
No Reason Needed
Children are often happy without reason — it is part of their charm. Often you can catch a child laughing for the sheer joy of it, smiling for the sake of smiling, playing happily with happiness. It both amuses and saddens me to think that when a child laughs for no reason at all, we think it’s wonderful, but when an adult laughs for no reason at all, we immediately fear for his or her health. The point is. . .
who ever said happiness needs a reason? . . .
Maybe your greatest downfall is that you believe you have to understand happiness before you can be happy.
Can you accept happiness unconditionally, without even understanding it? If you can, then happiness is yours unconditionally. Happiness is never grasped; it is simply let loose. In truth, happiness needs no reason. A smile needs no reason. Love needs no reason. Kindness needs no reason. There are gifts for free — life’s true treasures. Can you cope with that?
— Robert Holden, PhD, Happiness Now! p. 139-140
Happiness Is Not Selfish.
Happiness is made to be shared.
The martyr ethic is built upon a number of erroneous and fearful beliefs about happiness, the major one being that happiness is selfish. Another great fear of happiness to the practicing martyr is that my happiness denies others their happiness. In other words, it appears to the martyr that there isn’t enough happiness to go around. Other fears of happiness for the martyr include: Happiness leads to conceit, my happiness has no value to others, and being happy is inconsiderate in a world where there is suffering.
The fear that happiness is selfish is not only untrue, it actually couldn’t be further from the truth. Psychology researchers find time and time again that it is the depressed people, and not the happy ones, who are intensely self-focused and self-absorbed. Happy people, by contrast, tend to be outgoing, sociable, generous, loving, and kind. They’re also more tolerant, forgiving, and less judgmental than people who are depressed….
In truth, your happiness is more than okay. Your happiness is also a great gift. It is a total inspiration, a wonderful example, and a great service to the world. Your happiness contributes so much more to the world than your suffering.
— Robert Holden, PhD, p. 114, 118