The Happy Groundedness Of Joy

Life is difficult. Life is serious. Life is hard. Beliefs can be the “ground” of human society, but that is not the same as groundedness.

Our beliefs are reflected in how we create our world and do what we do. They are not wrong – they are incomplete.

What Is All Of This Seriousness Bringing Us?

Given the heavy seriousness of the human world, why has it not brought us a perfect world?

It seems that for all of the seriousness, something is wrong because you would think that by focusing on and doing what is serious, we would have a perfect world. We certainly have enough seriousness. We also have a lot of suffering and a lot of abuse. Is what we call serious the cause of our problems? Is our understanding of what is serious skewed? Do we simply need a shift?

Joy Is Groundedness In Practice

A joy practice has a natural boundary that blocks destructiveness. In fact, destructiveness is not really interesting; it is a burden, one that we do not need. If we want to be serious about life, we want to avoid adding unnecessary problems. A joy practice helps us be serious about how and why we use our energy so we are not wasting it.  It makes us serious about our contribution without making us overly serious about less important matters like social competition, fame, and external rewards that do not enhance our life.

In addition to healthier priorities,  a joy focus keeps us in touch with reality. So we do not need to be destructive when reality does not require it. We do not need to be destructive to feel superior, for instance. It is counterproductive and only reduces our joy. 

A Joy Practice Makes Us Both Present And Appropriate

The intention of creating and supporting joy in the world means we meet the moment appropriately. Being present is not just an exercise. It is how we connect with reality, what is needed and how we let joy help us make great choices. We have made our lives much easier when we let joy become our natural anchor. 

Serious When Necessary, Creative When Necessary, Playful When Necessary.

We have so much seriousness and so many problems that are piling up. We might take a page from animals, who know how to be serious when necessary and playful when necessary. They know how to meet the moment without reservation, wholeheartedly acting on the needs and possibilities of each moment in time. Their groundedness means they know how to live. 

Let joy offer you more of that lovely wholeheartedness.

Photo by Andrew Pons on Unsplash