A Note from Katryna: What is Joy?

Joy starts with attitude. You cannot close the door to being joyful; you must open it wide and allow yourself to be happy. There are so many reasons in life to dwell on our sadness and our problems, but we must keep a positive attitude, and ward off the negative. You have to have the belief that no matter what is happening in your life, you know that it is just a moment in time that will pass. Lessons in life, tests that we are put through, hardships, losing people and pets we love and things we felt would always be in our life, not only make us stronger and wiser, but getting through and surviving these difficult times; gives us the feeling of relief that we made it through. The relief we feel is the feeling of joy. You get that feeling when you let go of the issues that do not serve you and open yourself to new and better possibilities. This releasing of the negative and dwelling on the positive is what brings us real joy.

Living in joy and recognizing that feeling every day is important. It comes in big ways and in very simple things that we might take for granted.You cannot recognize it if you are dwelling in past events and/or reliving issues that bring you down. You have to look around you and find the beauty in your life. Joy can be a goodnight’s sleep. It is waking up next to the person you love. It is hugging your child, your pet, your friend and feeling loved and safe. Laughter is joy and it heals. Laughing raises our energy to a positive level. We need to be childlike and say and do silly things that make us giggle. It is also accepting and loving yourself just the way you are. To me, music is true joy. A song that you love can bring you to moments in your life that were and are still special. Music reminds us of the happiness we felt and who we were with and where we were when we heard that song. It brings up memories of times we felt true happiness. I feel music changes your mood and it can heal you on a very deep level.

I am sitting on my back porch looking at the bluest sky that has wisps of white clouds, hills that tower, a mountain that changes with each movement of the sun, and I feel joy. I am thankful that I notice this beauty as a gift. It is always there when I need to be reminded of how lucky I really am. Life is a gift. It is what we make it.

We need to remain positive and do and see the things that raise our spirit. I wish you all the feeling of joy and many blessings as you travel and evolve on your life’s spiritual path.

Katryna