November 2009 Issue

For years there was a billboard on the west bank of Pueblo's 4th Street bridge that said in big, bold letters: "THE JOY OF PEPSI." Now, I like cola as much as the next green-chili-loving Pueblo native, but can I really call the experience "joy" in the truest sense of the word? We all know that if advertising were true then my toothpaste would make me cool and laundry detergent would give me inner peace.

The question here is about enjoyment.

Are pleasure and joy the same thing? What is joy? Is it synonymous with happiness? Or is there something deeper and more meaningful to it than a soft drink on a hot day? The problem is that the word joy is as abused today as the words love and peace. Words that are better suited to describe inner-life realities are misapplied when used to refer to outward, visible realities only.

Imagine the experiences of pleasure, happiness and joy on a scale. Pleasures are simpler and temporary, including creature comforts like eating, listening to music, or physical and sexual pleasure. Happiness comes from a more elevated sense of well-being or security, often associated with personal achievement or recognition. Joy begins to stretch into yet another realm beyond mere pleasure or happiness.

Joy takes on a dimension of meaning that connects you to something bigger than yourself. Joy may include happiness and pleasure, but it can include suffering and sorrow as well. It transcends them. Leo Tolstoy wrote that "Joy can be real only if people look upon their life as a service, and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness."

One can pursue pleasures or happiness on a selfish island of themselves, but it won't last. Joy involves others, includes others, affects others and makes waves. Robert Murray McCheyne wrote that "Joy is increased by spreading it to others" which suggests that joy is not a passive thing. Joy is active, like the "service" that Tolstoy mentioned. Acts of compassion, justice, sharing and improving the experience of others is a component of lasting joy.

In light of this, joy is a strong and desirable foundation for any community or society.

Realms of higher joys are yet unknown to us, waiting for us to respond to the call of seeking joy for others. To be a joyful person, we must be willing to embrace inward disciplines and changes necessary to become the kind of person to whom joy comes naturally.

Side Bar:

"Joy lies in the fight, in the attempt, in the suffering involved, not in the victory itself."

-Mahatma Gandhi

"Things won are done; joy's soul lies in the doing."

-William Shakespeare

"...who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross..."
-Hebrews 12:2

"Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls."

-Mother Teresa

"The most profound joy has more of gravity than of gaiety in it."

-Michel de Montaigne

"The joy of a spirit is the measure of its power."

-Ninon de Lenclos

 

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