Joy

A journalist wrote an article recently that said being too positive was actually harmful, but being negative was more helpful.  She called it Toxic Positivity.  I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want her as my neighbor; let alone be married to her.  Can you imagine the joy this person sheds on every person she touches.  “Have a nice day” = “Screw you”   “Merry Christmas” = “I hate Christmas.”  “Happy July 4th!” = “America Sucks.”  The majority of these folks who hate everything positive seem to be people who are well educated and well off, so what’s their unhappiness about?

Bernie Siegel, MD wrote the handbook to cancer survival called, “Love, Medicine, and Miracles” which I have read over a dozen times and sent it to as many people struggling with health issues.  Dr. Siegel observed his positive patients survived cancer longer more often than those who were negative.  Although he documented thousands of cases, his peers wouldn’t accept his findings since it couldn’t be proven perfectly for everyone.  To me, that’s not a good reason to reject something that works.  Yes, its true that even the most positive patients die from something, but that shouldn’t stop you from being positive.  Although you may feel under the weather, being positive to other people on your worst day improves your own well being ten times over.

The TV everyday gives thousands of reasons why you shouldn’t be happy.  All the more reason not to let the media or anyone determine your happiness.   With that in mind, when I wake up everyday I look out the window to check for the Sunrise.  When I see it I say to myself, “Thank God, I’m still here.” Starting your day being positive carries over to all you do and who you meet; your good attitude makes other people feel better more so than you realize.  The opposite is true also, if you wake up everyday and say, “Life sucks,” then your entire day and life will be geared toward making sure that it does suck.  You’ll realize you accomplished this goal when you look around and you’re alone.

Joy is one of those special emotions that hides deep inside all of us and gets lured out only when you give rather than receive.  Sorry, but you can’t buy it at Walmart, steal it from someone, or have Congress pass a law that requires all of us to have equal amounts of joy.  It grows in you when you extend your kindness in the smallest of ways to the smallest of people needing it the most.  It’s not about logic; especially since you gain the most joy when you give at your lowest point.  So quit brooding over the ills of the world, paste a smile on your face, and walk out into the sunshine with the pure purpose of making someone else’s day better.  Joy will find you.   Slainte.