It is called The Happiness Paradox and although it’s still in the rough-draft phase, it was interesting to read the first section as we drove, cars whizzing past, the sun setting on the calm yellow horizon stretched out in front of us.
The thing that hit me the most was outside of what was written…although there are so many interesting concepts he brings up in there…but I loved that my Dad gave a little synopsis of how he’s always been enamored by finding “joy.” It made me realize how deeply he’s studied that concept for the last almost fifty years. From the seedlings of wonder that crept into his heart during graduate school to the creation of “Joy School” with my Mom (co-op parent-taught pre-school that holds a huge spot in my heart…more on that over HERE and HERE), to the quotes he had us memorize as kids “…joy is secret smiling of the heart,” “happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply…” to the awesome “Grandfather’s Secrets” he has all the grandkids memorize, etc., etc. As I read each section of that manuscript I kept getting filled with more and more awe as to how powerful ideas are. How they can be interwoven so much into the fabric of someone’s life, and how that weaving can weave and spread itself out in so many ripples.
It made me think of our “wall” in our house with all our favorite things included (here)…and how those ideas my Dad had clear back in graduate school have made their way, almost fifty years later, right onto the very heart of that wall. “Joy is the purpose of life and a choice we make” is the central focus point:
And not only onto that wall, but into our hearts. The concept of Joy is something I think about all the time. I know my siblings do too.
It’s certainly something that has rippled through hundreds of thousands of families who have done Joy School and who have read pretty much any of my parents’ books.
So, just some thoughts on the power of ideas on a Friday morning. Makes me wonder what kind of ideas I spill out that will someday be written on my own children’s hearts, rippling out.
I hope they will be good ones.
So very true! Joy is such an important part of the journey! Years ago I had a near death experience. (heart stopped) In that I was shown there are 4 areas our Souls come here to work on. Authentic Love, True Patients for every person and situation, Compassion, and above all Empathy. (The "Golden Rule Type" where we "project our being" into the being of the person or animal in front of us and have an understand what it will be like….to experience our words and actions from their view…loving or unkind…before we speak or act.) Most of us get Love and Compassion but the empathetic part is a tough quality to truly live day to day.
In that experience there was a clarity that the reason we are SO impatient, in this life, is that it is an "echo" from before our birth when we were Souls. There… everything was instant and NOW. There was no delay. Here on earth everything moves at a much lower vibration and as such there is an annoying delay. We also expect others to understand and "get us" right NOW. (also an echo from before) As a result we are a bunch of impatient humans who live in a day to day state of frustration because our Souls keep expecting things to happen at light speed.
Wanted to share this… as your thoughts on "Joy" really spoke to me. Joy is part of each of these 4 areas that I personally remind myself to get better at with each passing day. If you live with Joy FIRST…the rest follows. Wonderful post!
Hi Mark. Do you have a blog?
Hello! I do not. Have found that sharing the spiritual journey is best when the moment resonates. Most of the time it is during one on one conversations that sharing these kinds of experiences (like my NDE) are able to flourish.
When my friend told me in 2015 that her granddaughter had Bardet-Biedl syndrome, it immediately sounded familiar. Then I remembered hearing you talk about Lucy at the SLC Mothers Day Convention. I told me friend to go to your website and learn about the disease. She called me yesterday and said her daughters family had just attended a convention in Farmington, Utah on BBS. She said they met the 'family' I had told them about and were so grateful for what you have done for families who have this. Her granddaughter, Hailley so enjoyed meeting other kids and talking to them about how they handle their problems. I was so happy for them – you were the answer to many prayers. Thank you, Robyn Geantil San Diego, California