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JOY > HAPPINESS
The last month has been a bit of a blur, but then again, so has this entire year. We were down and out with COVID19 but thankfully we are now on the mend, with rest and recovery being our key focus. Don’t get me wrong, these last few weeks were tough [thread]
![JOY > HAPPINESS The last month has been a bit of a blur, but then again, so has this entire year. We were down and out with COVID19 but thankfully we are now on the mend, with rest and recovery being our key focus. Don’t get me wrong, these last few weeks were tough [thread]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EkR8B8jWAAIiUPn.jpg "JOY > HAPPINESS The last month has been a bit of a blur, but then again, so has this entire year. We were down and out with COVID19 but thankfully we are now on the mend, with rest and recovery being our key focus. Don’t get me wrong, these last few weeks were tough [thread]")
The last month has been a bit of a blur, but then again, so has this entire year. We were down and out with COVID19 but thankfully we are now on the mend, with rest and recovery being our key focus. Don’t get me wrong, these last few weeks were tough [thread]
both physically and mentally. So, we tried our best to think about all the things that bring us joy – rather than happiness. Joy and happiness are wonderful feelings to experience but are very different. Joy is more consistent and is cultivated internally...
It comes when you make peace with who you are, why you are and how you are, whereas happiness tends to be externally triggered and is based on other people, things, places, thoughts and events..
Having COVID made me really think about why aiming for joy is more beneficial, as it is less transitory than happiness & is not tied to external circumstances. So many of us have lost touch with that feeling, not knowing how to cultivate joy anymore, so we resort to quick fixes..
.. like alcohol, drugs, addictive foods or a like on social media, or find fleeting moments of happiness from other places without truly experiencing it and cultivating it for ourselves. Whilst I was reading up on what psychologists & scientists had to say about the difference...
between joy and happiness, I realised that this all sounded pretty familiar.
In Sikhi, the concept of chardi kala, essentially has the same principle - to maintain a mental state of eternal optimism and joy is to live in chardi kala. But that doesn’t mean just putting..
In Sikhi, the concept of chardi kala, essentially has the same principle - to maintain a mental state of eternal optimism and joy is to live in chardi kala. But that doesn’t mean just putting..
a ‘positive lens’ on everything in life. It means recognising the pain, the sorrow and the suffering, and to look all those things in the eye and say still – I am blessed, this is hukam. I wish I could flip a switch that will allow me to reach this state automatically but...
.. reaching this eternal state of joy or chardi kala takes time, practice and action. The two simple habits that I have put into place over the last few weeks is to meditate daily and to write in my journal at least three times a week.
It seems tedious, but when I look at the most joyful people I’ve met or am blessed to have in my life, they all meditate daily and they all take time to turn inwards and self-reflect.
Before 2020 comes to an end, see if you can fit these two simple actions into your daily habits too…
Maybe 2021 will feel a little different.
Maybe 2021 will feel a little different.
