Saturday, January 10, 2009

The Intricacies of Joy

2 Nephi 19:10
"The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones; the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars."

So, since Beethoven's 9th was on my mind all day.. and I took the time to type out that entire poem last night.. Joy has been somewhat on my mind as of late (specifically today). So I got thinking, what really is the difference between happiness and joy?  Or are there more degrees to the feeling of "happiness" than those 2?

A few [literal] definitions:
Happy - delighted; pleased; glad
Happiness - good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy
Joy - the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation
Eternal - without beginning or end; lasting forever; always existing
Temporal - enduring for a time only; temporary; transitory

You can probably alread see what I'm getting at by the words I chose to define just now.  But for the sake of what has been on my mind, I'm going to delv a little bit further.  

There are many things in life that bring us happiness and joy.  Things such as doing well on a test, making someone smile, being complimented, going on a date (well, a good one anyways haha), spending time with family and/or friends, and so on.  But as common as it is for those specific things to bring people joy, do they bring everyone joy?  Unfortunately the answer is no.  There are some people out there that really don't care about test scores, they'd rather see people in bad moods for whatever reason (usually because it makes them feel better about their own terrible state of mind?), people that can't accept or believe in compliments, and so on. 

What an atrocity!  Are there really people out there that can't find joy in those few things I listed!?  Unfortunately the answer is (in my opinion) yes.  Which stands for reason that there are people (probably those same people) that find joy in things that would bring others down.  Things like violence, rudeness, coarseness, being alone, pre-marital sex, drugs, pornography, and so on.  The common thing that comes to my mind in relation to those few things I just mentioned is that of respect.  Violence disrespects others' lives.  Rudeness disrespects others' kindness.  Coarseness disrespects others' importance.  Being alone disrespects others' ability to care about you and share in your life.  Pre-marital sex disrespects' others holy virginity.  Drugs disrespect others' and your own free will.  Pornography disrespects' the sanctity of the body, I could go on...

So what really is the difference between the first list I mentioned and the second?  Obviously there is the respect factor that I mentioned, but also underneath that layer is that of the eternities.  Anyone can seek after temporal joy and happiness: wealth, vacations, possessions, solitude, carnal passions.  But do those things bring you joy in the world to come?  Do they make other people around you happy, or just yourself?  

When we leave this world, what do we take with us and what do we leave behind?

Things we take with us:
 - Our habits
 - Our beliefs
 - Our thoughts
 - Our emotion
 - Our righteousness
 - Our knowledge
 - Our demeanor towards others
 - Our desires (things that bring us joy)

Things we leave behind:
 - Others' memories of us
 - The impact we had on others' lives (the joy we brought to others)

So, in the end (mortally) what type of joy really matters?  The type of joy that effects our actual person and the persons around us.  If I keep my talents to myself and bring myself as much inward happiness as possible, will that do as much good eternally as if I were to share my talents with others and bless their lives as well?  No.  And really, shouldn't we gain the most amount of joy by bringing joy to other people anyways?  Isn't that a higher law than the temporal law?  

I am going to make a concerted effort to change the way I think about my daily routine.  When I wake up in the morning, I am going to try to have my first thought be: "What can I do today to bring as much joy to those I come in contact with as possible?"  Or maybe I can start simple: "What can I do today to bring my mother and father (the people I live with and see every day) as much joy as possible?"  Or later that day "How can I bring as much joy as possible to my co-workers?"  

Because really, isn't that what it's all about?

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