Finding joy

We all know that we are meant to be happy. When we are sad, for whatever reason, we know that it is not supposed to be. And when that sadness is kind of stable, then we usually consider that situation as illness.

We have to learn how to find joy then, its true source, the one that can be attained and felt whatever setting we may find ourselves in. Joy should not be based only on some shallow and shifty ground, like our physical, emotional or social conditions. They are very unreliable foundations, and can be very dangerous.

Joy and happiness can only be found in God. That's for sure. He is the source of all good things, the creator and foundation of all reality. And when we mess up things that obviously will lead us to trouble and sadness, He will fix things, heal what is sick, repair what is damaged, recover what is lost.

This is a truth that needs to be emphasized again. Many have forgotten it, or worse, are ignorant of it. Especially the young who obviously need to be properly taught things, they easily fall into a very restricted and distorted understanding of joy, associating it with some bodily pleasures, emotional highs, or favorable social standing.

Many others have sourced it on the possession of good health, wealth, fame, worldly power. This conception of joy is notoriously biased and one-sided. It cannot stand the test of time with all its varied situations. It prospers only during fair weather, not in bad.

We need to go to God to find joy. As a psalm says it very well, "To be near God is my happiness." (72) We have to strengthen this conviction. Those without God will surely perish and get destroyed sooner or later. That much the same psalm warns us.

And God is neither far nor hidden nor ignorant. That sensation or attitude that we can sometimes have toward God is at best apparent.

It's false and without basis, since the truth is that God is at the very core of our life. And if we have faith we can actually see him everywhere. And we know he is a father who always cares for us.

We just have to little by little level up with the reality that governs us, a reality that is not ruled only by physical laws but also and most especially by spiritual, moral and supernatural laws, that is to say, by faith, hope and charity.

Religion has to come in for us to find happiness not only later but also even now and always. We just cannot allow ourselves to be dependent on some purely human and worldly conditions for this. Our life and everything in it has dimensions that go beyond the purely human and worldly. We have to go to God.

Especially when we meet difficulties, problems, miseries and failures in our life, we have to learn to find God to be able to find joy in these situations. In this regard, it might be useful to be reminded of what St. Peter said in his letter.

"Christ suffered for you, and left you an example to have you follow in his footsteps. He did no wrong, no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he returned no insult. When he was made to suffer, he did not counter with threats.

"Instead, he delivered himself up to the One who judges justly. In his own body He brought your sins to the cross, so that all of us, dead to sin, could live in accord with God's will. By his wounds you were healed." (1 Pt 2)

It's good to go over these words many times and touch base with their true meaning, substance and purpose, for in them is spelled the formula we need to live to find joy in our suffering that is unavoidable in our life.

We have to develop the proper attitude and skills that apply these words into our life. We should discipline ourselves so as to know how to properly deal, without suppressing them, our emotions that often muddle things.

We have to learn how not to be unduly affected by our human and worldly conditions so as to give full play to the impulses of faith, hope and charity. These latter elements see and understand things globally, and would enable us to see beyond our restrictive feelings and worldly views.

Let's develop a culture that would firmly put in place this conviction of where to properly find joy.

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