Love, Joy, Peace

Taken at London Zoo last week

So where has this whole happiness thing come from.  How come I’ve finally got to a place where I can say that I’ve woken up and feel happy?

I was mulling the Christian concept of the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’ – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control.  For years I have thought I can do those but I realise there is a difference between doing them and being them.

For me the key things in this are receiving love, joy and peace. 

Why specifically receiving love?  I think that giving love is about patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and faithfulness.  For me if I am automatically behaving in this way it is because I feel loved, peaceful and joyful.

Self control is important because it means I am actively deciding to put my self in a place where I can receive love, experience joy and be peaceful and actively avoiding situations that steal love, joy and peace.

So receiving love

• Spending time with my DH
• Spending time with family
• Spending time friends
• Generally being around people who love me and accept me as I am.

So Peace

• Eating and drinking right
• Exercising
• Getting enough sleep
• Journaling
• Meditating

And joy – and this is where I have to say I’ve realised that I’m struggling.  What I have learned over the last few months is sorting out how to do the love and the peace thing.  I’m just short on the joy. 

Part of that has to do with a very strong work ethic, part of it to do with a lack of money thing but primarily to do with my tendency to hibernate when I feel down.  Given that I’ve been feeling down for a while I’ve stopped doing stuff.  I no longer sail, ski, scuba dive, canoe, go to the theatre, dance… so this is the next step.  Doing stuff and avoiding hibernating. 

Good plan I think