Finding Joy: A 12-Step Program

            Joy lives and breaths inside us all, just waiting to be discovered.  Finding it is like panning for gold:  put yourself in the stream of life, examine all the rocks that come your way, but keep only those nuggets which fill you with joy.  Negatively hangs on your soul like extra rocks in your pocket and should be quickly unloaded.

            For some people, finding joy is as difficult as climbing Mt. Everest.  Some refuse to believe that joy is attainable, some try to absorb it from others, and many more try to buy it.  But no one person can be held responsible for another’s joy and happiness.  Being around certain people may be a joyful experience, but no one else can give you joy, although they may wish you a joyful life.  And certainly no one can buy joy.  There are people who are poor but cheerful and others who are rich but miserable.  Joy is a state of being, not a material, tangible object.  For those of you who are still experiencing difficulty finding joy, perhaps the following 12-step program will light your way.

            Step #1:  Desire and belief.  Before you can ever hope to find joy, you must first desire it with all your heart.  You must believe you are a beautiful person worthy of joy.  Once you have jumped these two hurdles, you will believe that joy is not only attainable but that you will find it.  Say to yourself every day:  “I believe that I am a beautiful person worthy of joy, and I truly believe that I will find it.”

            Step #2:  Love yourself and others.  Learning to love yourself is not always easy, especially if you were not taught from a young age t to do so, or if you have been through an emotionally crippling relationship.  But despite anything you have ever been told—or not told—about yourself, look into the mirror every day and say, “I love myself.  I am a beautiful person.”  Make a list of all your attributes, even the ones you consider small and insignificant, and remember, no attribute is insignificant.  Refer to your list daily and add to it often.  You will start to see what a wonderful person you really are, and it will become easier to love yourself.  Once you have learned this, you will develop a sunnier disposition, and you will notice that people around you treat you differently—they smile at your more often, speak more kindly to you, and seek out your company.  Love, like joy, is contagious.  Master the art of self-love and loving others will naturally follow.