JOY

From a material point of view, this quality is the result or outcome of the action of several factors: health, temperament, thrift, or harmoniousness of life, equanimity, courage to take upon oneself all the consequences of truth and justice, a never-ending process of self-education, success in one’s relations to people, to work, unburdened conscience, sincere and deep faith in God’s providence, etc. Joy is a matter of the heart and has deep roots. It is not infrequently accompanied by cheerfulness. However, it also goes very well with seriousness. Cheerfulness is usually something external, superficial, even explosive, and passionate; joy is lasting, while cheerfulness comes and goes; joy is a state of the soul, and cheerfulness is an emotion that is suddenly there and just as suddenly gone. Without inner joy, there is no outer joy – as there is no heat in a room without heating.

Joy is said to be a gift in some rare cases of nature in people who were born on a Sunday. They have received it, as it were, but after reaching a certain stage of development, it has also played its part in upbringing. Thus, the inherited qualities of resistance to negative influences, courage, and intrepidity in the face of life’s trials were organically engaged by the conscious acquisition of noble human qualities. And the result? Clarity of mind and an untrained wellspring of joyfulness, so much so that others feel as if something radiates from these people. This kind of joyfulness can only be partially “taught.” It means perhaps that for all the other, less happy individuals who have not inherited this gift, this virtue is unattainable. Certainly not. Apart from the special interventions of God, it should be noted that certain prerequisites. The first of these is the inclination, nay, the courage to be joyful, and the second is the ability to create the manifold preconditions of joy. Education for joy must go hand in hand with education for piety – as the brilliant educator of the past did and preached to do, St. John Bosco.
Let us begin with the simplest: environmental modification, especially the home. This includes, among other things, the choice of suitable furniture, its color matching that of the walls, carpets, curtains and drapes, pictures and decorative objects, flowers, or plants. A rich source of joy is music and poetry, sociability and a sense of conviviality, the ability to be selfless in one’s approach to every personal virtue, etc. All this works to create a fertile space for joy – but it is not yet a virtue. One must insure oneself against two pitfalls: emotional lability and chronic moroseness. One must strive to eradicate them from the soul like rubbish or insects. One must not trifle with feelings that stem from these two attitudes of life but react, just as soon as the first dark cloud rises: to withdraw it below the horizon, to defuse it. Otherwise, the sky will soon be clouded with black clouds, and a storm, often with thunder, is here. It often requires a tough, but above all determined, methodical, and persistent self-discipline. If a man has often, by his own doing, attracted sorrow, he ought to have as much sense, ingenuity, and strength to attract joy as well. Interestingly, posture also plays an important role in this battle against irritation and sullenness. Having lowered shoulders, drooping arms, slouching, walking as if carrying a heavy load – all these things somehow predispose one to melancholy, if not to dissatisfaction or even anger. One must have the courage to straighten up, to give the muscles a certain tone, to clear one’s face, to find a “magic word”, so to speak, which will help one to acquire a new physical-psychophysical frame of mind. And not only to banish the gloomy mood but also to eliminate anxiety or fear of the future. But it must be very intuitive and spoken with a great deal of courage and humor.

Each person is sensitive to different expressions or slogans. However, there are some, generally very effective when first encountering our psyche. For example, the monosyllabic word “I like!”. Let’s say a person is standing in front of a difficult or unpleasant situation and says to himself: “Gladly!” or “I like it I’ll take it!” And immediately he feels not only a surge of courage and strength but also of joy. Another tried-and-tested “magic password” is the phrase, “It will be cheerful.”
Every man capable of introspection will realize after a time that something in a few moments will free him from the burden, melancholy, sadness, irritation, and even anger. For one, it is a kind of
melody or a song, for another the opportunity to groan at some image or sequence of images, for another some exercise or a few minutes of concentration on inhaling and exhaling, or finally a very concentrated utterance of a prayer that one knows by heart. There are as many “tricks” as there are people. Although – and this also needs to be must be said – that one must have the strength to reach for them.

The situation changes incredibly after some time of intense, relentless, but sensible practice. One feels (sometimes with a great deal of euphoria) that one is a free being who rules even over one’s feelings and moods and can enjoy pleasant things as well as hardships. At the same time, he also experiences a kind of higher joy that has its origin in chivalric courage to handle the hardest things bravely, honestly, and faithfully. Evening, night, and morning play a particularly important role in training oneself for the joyfulness of life. Before going to sleep one should lightly review all the experiences of the day, rejoice in what has been joyful, and say to yourself: “Tomorrow it will be even more joyful” – and reflect on the means of realizing joy. The night also plays a significant role here. Let us say that a man in the middle of the night wakes up in the middle of the night. He puts a smile on his face and says: I can still sleep, that’s great. Tomorrow, I’ll get out of bed fresh as a fish. And one of the first
thoughts he makes room for in his mind is the “statement”: “It’s going to be a beautiful, joyful day today” – and he’ll repeat it cheerfully when he needs to until the thought or the resolve pervades his whole being.

Whether such a thing is possible at all has every justification. The answer, however, can only be negative if one does not believe in the existence of an absolute Being who is just as good as omnipotent. Only if one has the opportunity to lean on it will one discover the source of “living water” – joyfulness in the sense we have described it: as a long-term, lifelong quality or virtue. For it is something else to shout enthusiastically “Joy!” when someone (or life) asks something pleasant of us, and it is something else to say in the face of unpleasant things or obligations, “It will be cheerful,” to be positive despite it all, and to turn to God by saying, “Yes, with joy, Father,” or “It will be joyful, Lord, For you and together with you all things will be well. Everything is a breeze for you.” We have said that cheerfulness is primarily a matter of the heart, but it radiates outward as well. This brightness may be feigned here and there, but never for long. It follows that people who radiate joy as a permanent way of life are a kind of intuitive, though unspoken, unstressed evidence of belief in Providence. Joy does faith credibility – and conversely, a sustained lifestyle of joyful faith is verified. A sullen, sad Christian is proof of the falsity of the “glad tidings” or the gospel, for he thus noiselessly, without a word, unintentionally, but all the more effectively, confirms the unbeliever in his conviction, that Christianity is incapable of bringing salvation.