Joyful Solutions

I have noticed that many of my patients feel exhausted by the sheer effort it takes to manage their lives. Think about your typical day. How much of that day was devoted to completing as many tasks as possible? Now think about how much of your day was devoted to things that bring you joy. Did you even think about providing joy for yourself today?

I cannot underestimate the effect that joy has on our physical and mental health. But in order for joy to do its job, we have to give it the space to happen.

This means that our choices every day really do determine at a very deep level, what our health will be like. Creating joy takes effort at first, but the rewards are incredible. There is deeper breathing, difficulties seem less stressful and less overwhelming. Balance seems easier to achieve and the people in our lives notice the lightening of our being.

Why do we view joyful things as treats or rewards instead of essential pieces of each and every day? I think it's because joy doesn't have a tangible result that we can point to at the end of the day.

There is the famous story of the man with cancer that chose to watch the Three Stooges and laugh every day and he credits that daily ritual with now being cancer-free.  We seem to feel that we have to accomplish everything on our list before we can allow ourselves to do something fun, something frivolous.  We feel that our days need to be filled with work and that only vacations are for fun, for joy.  

I have had a number of people that were so weighed down by their lives that there was no energy to heal. Energy takes healing and it takes time. This means that you have to provide energy for that process every day for weeks and even months to resolve symptoms. Supplements, therapy, medicine, surgery are all tools to help the body, but they do not give the body the joy and energy needed to heal. Joy creates energy while sadness and depression drain energy away.

Without taking anything, without spending a penny, you can begin to heal right now just by doing something that brings you joy. Don’t wait for the weekend or until all your tasks are done or until a vacation. Do it right now.

There is no better advice that you will receive from anyone.