A clairvoyant friend of mine recently said, “Right now is the time for JOY. All our decisions and actions must be guided by joy.”
I wondered aloud, “Is joy really possible these days? Isn’t being happy now and then good enough?” Then I started examining when and how often I felt joyful during my day. And it reminded me of a funny story my mom would tell me…
When my mother was a young lady, she and her sister and aunt and uncle were musing over where to go on vacation. Someone suggested Galveston, Texas. So they all hopped into their car and started driving. They traveled through Alabama, then Mississippi, and Louisiana. After a series of mishaps, and overtaken by fatigue, someone said, “Whose bright idea was this, anyway – going to Galveston?”
This led to a heated discussion.
“ I didn’t really want to go to Galveston,” said my mother.
“Neither did I,” said sister.
“Me, either,” said her Uncle.
“Hold on a moment,” said the Aunt to her husband, “ You’re the one who said Galveston was nice this time of year.”
He replied, “ I said it was nice -- I didn’t say I wanted to GO there!”
Today, when my mother says, “Make sure you’re not 'Going to Galveston',” she means, be sure your heart is in it, before you jump into something you think will please others.
When we look at our lives searching for JOY– we may have more choices than we think. If we slow down and take time to listen to our hearts –- and seek those things that truly make us happy -– we can find directions to Joy.
(Photo credit: Unknown; Janet and Emilie Smith)
