Tag: Joy

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Happiness Rant

I have to say nothing irritates me more than seeing the word happy flung around. Do what makes you happy, happiness is all that matters in this world. What a load of cock, I’d say the other word, but I don’t in life so I won’t here.

If I did what makes me happy I would live on puffy Cheetos, drink diet coke and stalk Dean Cain all over the world. I choose to do the right thing, I choose to do things that give me great joy, happiness is such a human word, a human emotion, and it is fleeting.

Joy is eternal, having a joyous soul gives one the unique ability to overcome trials and tribulations of an earthly nature. Happiness can be punctured, can be effected by the outside world.

I am not saying don’t be happy, there are a great many things that I am happy about, and they are all human things and can be taken away at any given moment. Certain television shows make me happy, they can be taken away at the whim of a network executive.

Whenever I see the memes or words of people saying the only thing that matters in this world is happiness so do what makes you happy I want to literally scream.

When the bible was translated into English, there was no happy in it, men put that word in there, joyous, joy, blessed, those were the words used.

Jesus did not promise us great happiness if we followed him, he promised great joy, he also told us we would be persecuted, ridiculed, but to stand fast in our faith. Our faith, not our happiness, so there we have it folks, faith, hope and love these are the things that are left and of these three, love is the greatest. Love gives us faith and hope and great joy, look beyond mere happiness, find your joy, find your hope, find your faith and you will have your blessings, in abundance.

The blessings may not be what you think happiness is, it may be something entirely different, you will never know until you give up the inane pursuit of happiness and look towards something beyond.

If I had not stepped out in faith by accepting my Aunt Odela’s offer to come to Owasso, I would never have had a real mother and father. I would never know the joy of being a real daughter, I would never have known the joy of having a friendship that has spanned 38+ years. I would never have known the joy of being a mother to the best children ever.

Stepping out on faith gives us joy, not happiness, once again, not saying don’t be happy, there are many earthly things that give me happiness. But they can be taken away at any given time, joy cannot.

 

 

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The Pursuit of Happiness?

There is something that has been on my mind a lot lately, and no, it isn’t Dean Cain, well, alright, it is, but not this time. This time I want to talk about how people bandy about the word happy. It all started with the hippies, do whatever makes you happy, whatever makes you feel good. I am going to tell you right now that is really no way to live, and I will tell you why I believe it is no way to live your life.
If I did whatever made me happy, I would sit around watching old episodes of All My Children and eating nothing but puffy cheetos and chocolate. Also throw in some Buffy, Angel, Dollhouse and Firefly and you have my complete happy experience. But wait, let’s add-on some Lois and Clark; the new Adventures of Superman and well you have just made my happiness meter go off the charts.
I do not do those things because I would end up being 800 pounds and after a while my brain would atrophy.
I do what is necessary, I hold down a full-time job, after all they don’t pay you to sit around looking for new pictures of Dean Cain on the internet. Oh, wait, is that a real job? I must check into that. I digress. I take care of a household, make sure the Irishman has his medicines and eats halfway decent and I shop. Now add radio personality, well, ok that makes me happy.
I would suggest everyone stop this notion that you have to be happy, pursue joy, peace, those are the things we should be pursuing. There are many things that give me great joy, helping someone fix their internet so they can talk to their family. That gives me joy, picking up my granddaughter every other Friday from school, gives me immense joy. Talking to my children, hearing that their lives are going well, gives me peace.
This week, your mission, if you so choose to accept it, will be to put aside the notion of happiness and instead understand what joy and peace are. Find things that make your soul peaceful, and gives you great joy. Understand that sometimes wanting the things that inspire happiness are a little selfish, perhaps if the rest of the world set aside doing things that make them happy and focus on others then the world might just improve a little.

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Joy and the pursuit of Happiness

I started my morning with Elton John and Kiki Dee and moved on to Kirk Franklin featuring God’s Property. The songs Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart and Stomp, could one start their day better? I think not.
The song Stomp has gotten me through a lot of tough times through the years, it was released in 1996, and it holds the test of time. It is as relevant today as it was then, whenever I hear it I get fired up. Fired up is the only phrase that I can put to the way it makes me feel.
In this culture the pursuit of happiness is tantamount; however, happiness is fleeting, pursuing joy, peace, that is what we should be doing. Do you know that the Bible does not one single time tell us that we should be happy? Happiness is such a fleeting thing, thing being the operative word, trusts me when I tell you things make me happy. I have great joy and peace in the Lord, that is what, was promised us in the bible, peace, joy, love, when Jesus was here he even said if you follow me you will know persecution, buy you will have great joy. Joy and peace last an eternity, happiness lasts a moment in time, I think people in this society have it all backwards, I hear the word happy banded about like it is the end all and be all of everything one works toward. I think that once you stop doing that, you will be at peace, which for your soul is much better; I would rather be peaceful and joyous than happy.
When Buffy died and the Scooby gang brought her back, she told Spike her soul was at peace, she didn’t say she was happy in the hereafter, she said she was at peace. She believed she had been in heaven. Joss Whedon got it right; he never once put the words on paper that she had been happy, he wrote words saying in heaven she had been at peace.
So there you have it folks, my beliefs, you can agree, you can disagree, however they are mine. I fully believe when I die, and go to heaven, I will be at peace, and know greater joy than I have ever experienced here on earth. Especially if God sees fit to put me in the sitcom portion of heaven, my life has played like one, so I see no issues there. Or perhaps in the Dramedy section, I am sure they have one, and I shall be there!