CAN ONE CHOOSE TO LIVE IN JOY?
THE FOUNDATIONS OF JOY ACCORDING TO SCIENCE
As much for women as for men, the emotion of joy comes up spontaneously, and the feeling of joy is elaborated over time. Learning to accept or create these human experiences can happen naturally, be learned, or even taught.
by Marie-Paul Ross, M.I.C.
Joy is a molecule inscribed in each soul and in each cell in the body, just like distress, which is its opposite. This state, which is influenced by emotional experience, constantly calls for well-being.A person’s emotional impulse moves in the direction of love and life, and thus towards plenitude and joy. If a human takes the time to become inwardly silent, he feels the message of a profound joy or an emotional joy. This experience of listening may also indicate obstacles to joy.Moreover, the human being who is attentive to his profound nature discovers that joy is his daily bread. This fragile yet invasive state can be found in both men and women as an emotion or a sentiment.
There are different experiences of joy: the explosive joy in the noise of a “party”,madeto- measure happiness, and joy in its immediate, fleeting, hysteric or euphoric forms.
MY CHOICE IS TO LIVE IN JOY
There are also completely different opportunities of joy which are experienced in the simplicity of daily life. Both young and old find joy in the contemplation of nature. Nature surrounds us with its beauty, freshness, and fruitfulness. It invites us to rejoice in the passing of the seasons.Autumn clothes the mountains with splendid colours and brings with it the fruits of the harvest.Winter comes upon us with snowflakes that dance as they fall, and this snow covers the evergreens and the barren trees with its sparkling cloak. In the spring, it’s the joy of the snowdrop that heralds the end of winter, the buds that burst into blossom, the flowering apple trees, life that is reborn. Then summer arrives with its long sunny days, and its magnificent sunrises and sunsets. The whole abundance of nature in full effervescence comes to life.
Moments of joy are lived in the simplicity of relationships.The smile of a child awakes in us the joy of innocence and transparency.The dreams for the future of a young couple lead to a joy full of hope.
The family assembled around a well laden table celebrates the joy of important events: weddings, baptisms, birthdays and anniversaries of all sorts, as well as the humble meals of everyday life.The joy of a discovery, of a successful work project, of expressed creativity, of recovered health, the joy of anticipation: life has been given to us and we are called to bring joy upon earth.
More than an emotion, more than a feeling, joy is a flame that rises from the inside, from the deepest part of our being to illuminate our face and reveal the Love that lives within us.
A LITTLE BIT OF SCIENCE TO UNDERSTAND
THE CHOICE OF LIVING IN JOY
Joy, just like sadness, is an emotion that can arise spontaneously in one’s whole being just as it can be
developed by choice. In adulthood, joy does not depend on others, but on oneself.
In the human brain, a group of neurons plays the particular role of triggering reactions. Under the particular influence of the hormone dopamine, the pleasure mechanism is activated. Learning motivates repetition. Joy follows the same neurological current as pleasure.A person who has been desensitized or wounded in his emotional life may seek pleasure that is empty of human meaning, and may also become dependent on experiences of joy dissociated from the essential values of love.The functioning of the neurotransmitter system is strongly tied to the sensibility and the emotional experience of an individual; it is up to the individual to ensure his emotional well-being in order to live in joy.
JOY IS A SOURCE OF HEALTH
The expression “to do something to your heart’s content” may be a dehumanizing joy, a false joy or the expression of a human accomplishment. Since the same region of the brain is touched by pleasure, sadness, and joy that is well or badly adjusted to love, it’s a person’s sensibility and emotional choice that determine whether the sentiment of joy is inhibited or developed.
Human beings in good mental health manage to modify the activity of serotonin. They don’t remain in states of superficial joy or in endless sadness. One characteristic of the adult is to be able to choose health and to foster it. Joy is a source of health, and we are invited to produce it in the balance of everyday living.
STORY
THE REAL LIFE STORY OF A 36 YEAR OLD MAN
All it takes is to disengage the cerebral circuits that bring sadness for joy to rise to the surface.
Here is the real life story of a thirty-six year old man I will call Jules.
Jules got up one morning, hung over after the party the night before. Like always, he had breakfast.With the radio on, he had become used to hearing the pattern of rock music and commercials.As he ate his toast, he wondered what in the world he was doing on earth. He no longer felt like continuing with the routine he called a “boring drudge”. He called in sick so he wouldn’t have to go in to work.
Not knowing what to do with his time, he called up a friend to tell him how down he was feeling. The conversation didn’t last long since Jules had often told the same story before.
I CAN LIVE IN JOY
Oh yeah? So why are you always like this? Jules answered, It’s my so-called life. And the friend then became a real friend. Look, Jules, you either continue with your so-called life, or you use your body and your mind to become a man. After a short silence, Jules got upset and said, You don’t know what I’m going through. The answer wasn’t long in coming. Listen, life is the same for everybody. There are tough days and easy days; everything depends on what you do with what you are. Go for a walk in the woods and listen to what the trees are telling you: they’re your best friends. After a short good-bye, the call was suddenly over.
over. Faced with such lack of sympathy from his friend, Jules did what his friend had advised him to do. He set off with three bottles of water, some apples and nuts in his knapsack and spent the day in some woods he didn’t know, not far from where he lived. He walked along, looking at the trees and wondering how they could possibly speak to him. After two hours of walking, he breathed in deeply, looked at the horizon, and let his arms swing loosely; his pace became more agile, his body straight and vibrant with joy. Within him, a reality had become clear,“I am a man; I can live in joy.” During this “sick day”, he put his neurotransmitters into action, and instead of letting the cerebral circuits clog up with sadness, he used the same biophysical structures to create in himself a state of joy that gave flavour to life. That day, thanks to his friend, he learned something essential about life, and not just survival, on earth.
And thus Jules disengaged the circuits of his brain that bring sadness in order to bring joy to the fore.
À propos de l’auteure :
Sr Marie-Paul M.A., Ph.D.
Sexologue clinicienne
Praticienne certifiée EMDR
Fondatrice de l’IIDI (Institut
international de développement
intégral, à Québec)
Site Internet :
iidicanada
Le Précurseur
Janvier - Février - Mars 2007