Eventually

Joy is an essential spiritual practice growing out of faith, grace, gratitude, hope, and love. It is the pure and simple delight in being alive. Joy is our elated response to feelings of happiness, experiences of pleasure, and awareness in abundance. It is also the deep satisfaction we know when we are able to serve others and be glad for their good fortune. In this chapter I will introduce authors and also relate to their writings to illustrate joy in debt, on what we need to do to attain it and finally intrude with a few life examples of mine as well. In America, I have had a different kind of joy experience for the first time in my life. I had never been involved in charity work being somewhat holy only at home without frequently going to the holy grounds. Many charity drives are established via churches, mosques and temples. When I was young, I seldom visited the temples and hence I was never exposed to charitable causes. In 1996, JS invited me to a church summer camp for the handicap, I initially agreed for the sake of camping. What I was to experience was my first time in an American summer camp, socializing with handicap children, meeting new friends from the same age group who were the camp supervisors and at the same time bonding with JS and AS who brought me there. I could feel the joy when I spoke to the handicap children and their joy of having fun at the camp, games and food. I never knew of the pain and discomfort these children went through till I met and slept in the same camp room with them. I felt pity but happy as I was able to share my friendship in this short summer with them. They gave me a smile almost every day. Other camp supervisors and I became close friends. I will never forget the particular lunchtime when I was thrown into the pool as an orientation for a first-time supervisor. I remember shouting that my contact lens would get wet. One of the guys in the pool came up to me and said he wore them too and I need not worry that I would lose sight. Whatever that meant at that time in my life! Joy is an experience which you do not have to wait for it to fall from the sky. Invite joy into your life by staging celebrations, for example, hosting festivals to mark transition or changes in one’s life. Toast moments of happiness you notice as you go through your day. Dance and jump for joy as often as possible. Life is not meant to be endured; it is to be enjoyed.