To live fully means to find joy in the ordinary existence of daily life. It means being contented with where you are instead of wasting precious hours whining over what you do not have. Joy is the breath of life. If you wake up healthy, no discernible pain, food in your refrigerator and you are well enough to eat it you are rich, you have everything you need for that day and this is cause for celebration.
Think of the alternative realities of many people in the world, who awake to the sound of bullets, riddling through their walls, or wake up with no food in the house and have to look forward to another day of water and more water. This is the reality of many children in many parts of the world, yet many of these children who have so little yet find joy in just being alive, being able to run into the bushes and perhaps pick a fruit from the tree which is all they might have for that day. I am always amazed when I see photographs of children living in some of the worst conditions on this earth, look so radiant, their smiles and wide and deep and sincere. They seem truly happy. I say to myself, what is it that these children have that we in the rich West do not have? I thought about this a whole lot and came to the conclusion that they have the spirit of the Creator in them; they are not bogged down with things and attachments as we are in the West. We have so much to take care of that sometimes we forget they are merely things of no particular value in the larger scheme of things and there are so much more important things to be concerned with such as having fun and joy in our lives.
Joy is about living in the moment, be present with your Lord and be grateful for all that you have been blessed with even if it just a cup of water. When you accept your blessings with gratitude something fills yours hunger. You are filled with the love of God, so filled you are that even though it might be just a couple of crackers with sugar and water, you will feel as if you had the most wonderful treat in the world.
Joy is having a purpose-filled life. We wonder why our children with all that they have are still so miserable? Are still so discontented and never seem to have enough, always wanting something more? Well let me tell you, it is because our children are living lives with little purpose. They get up eat, play and go about their sports or other activities? Do they have a purpose in the home? Do they have a chore to tell them that they are part of a family and that family members each have a role to play, each must give as well as take? When our children feel part of a whole and can see how important their contribution is to the entire family, they feel a sense of purpose. They know when they get up they have something to do to earn their position as a family member be it to wash the dishes, make up their beds, feed the dog or something. This is very important for our children’s sense of self and for their enjoyment through their purpose-driven lives.
Imagine if you were to get up in the morning with nothing to do, just to ring a bell and have someone do everything for you, you would feel bored and useless, you would get dress and go shopping for things you do not want but just to pass time and fill empty spaces in your life. This sort of activity lends itself to superficial satisfaction, which wears away very quickly and in its place depression sets in, or we begin to engage in unhealthy behaviors.
Let us commit ourselves to having joy in our lives by having a purpose each day. Joy is our natural state.
