Sunday Reflections — The path of joy
This week, Sunday Reflections walks the path of joy:
“Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife. The first question was, ‘Did you bring joy?’ The second was, ‘Did you find joy?” ~ Leo Buscaglia
“We are all capable of living lives characterized by great joy. Within each of us is an amazing human spirit that is strong enough to overcome pain and disappointment. And no matter what our current situation happens to be, or what beliefs we may currently harbor about ourselves, we can tap into that inner strength and wisdom and move forward to create more joy.” ~ Salle Merrill Redfield
“Joy is not in things; it is in us.” ~ Richard Wagner
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” — Nhat Hanh
“My primary and most essential goal in life is to remain connected to the world of spirit. Everything else will take care of itself — this I know for sure. And my number-one spiritual practice is trying to live in the present moment … to resist projecting into the future, or lamenting past mistakes … to feel the real power of now. That, my friends, is the secret to a joyful life.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
“Joy is what makes life worth living, but for many joy seems hard to find. They complain that their lives are sorrowful and depressing. What then brings the joy we so much desire? Are some people just lucky, while others have run out of luck? Strange as it may sound, we can choose joy. Two people can be part of the same event, but one may choose to live it quite differently than the other. One may choose to trust that what happened, painful as it may be, holds a promise. The other may choose despair and be destroyed by it. What makes us human is precisely this freedom of choice.” ~ Henri Nouwen
“Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.” ~ Marianne Williamson
“Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments — often ordinary moments. Sometimes we miss out on the bursts of joy because we’re too busy chasing down the extraordinary moments. Other times we’re so afraid of the dark we don’t dare let ourselves enjoy the light. A joyful life is not a floodlight of joy. That would eventually become unbearable. I believe a joyful life is made up of joyful moments gracefully strung together by trust, gratitude and inspiration.” ~ Brené Brown
“Joy descends gently upon us like the evening dew, and does not patter down like a hailstorm.” ~ Jean Paul
“From tiny, tiny waves of joy, one gets to the ocean of happiness, which is called bliss.” ~ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
