Living in Love AND Joy
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No-one truly has joy
unless he lives in love.
~Thomas Aquinas
Ever since I met my dear friend, Ingrid, at Tending Joy, I've heard her repeat this desire for herself: to live in Love.
The Love of which she speaks (and Thomas Aquinas speaks) is one that is not limited to an intimate relationship. It is a Love which is bigger, broader, all-encompassing. A state of body, mind, heart, and soul that knows no limits.
I've been pondering and pondering Aquinas' statement about Joy—and what Joy has to do with Love. And what it has to do with how I live my life. I'm having some significant insights ....
How about you? What would it mean if you were to live your life in Love?
I'm eager to hear ...
I will share my current understanding of this powerful precept in the Comments section. Please join me there.
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Special Announcement!
Don't forget tomorrow is July 1st and it is Joy Rebel Day, hosted by Ms. Brandi at her loquacious and insightful blog, Joy Rebel, along with many others, including , a "Joy Rebel Blog Party!" at She Sleeps with Sea Glass, which I am really looking forward to. Check it out, it looks really fun. So join us at these sites and here, of course, and let us know how you are spending this day being your truest, most Joyful self!
("Joy Vibrations," by the artist Roussouli. Visit his website to delight in more images of soulful women: Roussouli Art Studio.)
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16 comments:
To me love and joy are the same, pure vibration. This too is my wish, to live each moment in love and joy, no matter what is happening on the outside. It is a tall order, but I believe it can be done, one little moment at a time..
Living in joy is a choice! And I am choosing joy more and more everyday. After letting go and just flowing, life is so much more en"joy"able. I release all pressures of succeeding, dream catching and goals. I am focusing only on my daily journey...who knows what lies ahead tomorrow...today is only where I live.
Living my life in Love means taking each day as a gift. Allowing myself to open that gift each day and live joyfully. Honoring myself first always insures that I can love all the same way. There truly can be no joy without love. For this I am grateful.
Sometimes I think I live and love and experience enough joy for today but in an instant, my humanity slaps me up side the head when I think an unloving thought, speak a hurtful word or act in an ungracious manner.
If I were to live my life in love, I would
- guard my thoughts by imbibing the word of God more dutifully. Then I'd linger in more loving thought before I speak and act.
- be more compassionate and open my heart and my arms readily to the people who live on the sidelines of life.
- lift the veil of my guardedness and dance when unrecognized music begins to play in my personal life and in my writing journey.
Often, it is in the expected and unfamiliar we can find love, give love and experience joy.
So by incorporating the above changes I am making room for living in love and in joy.
I agree that living in love and joy are a choice, but one has to figure out how to choose it which can be difficult at times.
It seems like love and joy are synonymous when one is arising from that place, that eternal present moment with all its wisdom...
I echo the sentiments of Caroline! I am also choosing joy more and more everyday.
Perhaps joy is the feeling that comes from knowing love? The expansive nature of the heart that allows all love, both the sweet and bittersweet to fill it, knows joy well.
I LOVE that picture. The woman flowing from the shell. Who painted/created it?
Hi Annie,
Yes! This is what I am coming to understand, too: that Love and Joy are the same pure vibration. (I do love the word, "vibration." :-) In fact, if I exchange one word for the other, the feeling response in me is exactly the same. And I concur, we do this journey into BEING Love, or Joy, or Peace one step at a time. May your journey into "LOVEJOY" be blessed!
Caroline,
Like you (or so it seems), I have lived for dreams and this plannable (HA!) future, which so often takes me out of my Joy. And, like you, I have recommitted (began in early '09) to live each moment as it unfolds—with acceptance and grace. Living in the now brings abundant Love and Joy...And when I step out of that, I can truly feel the difference. You too?
Jill,
I love what you say here. That living in Love means taking each day as a gift. Beautiful! I also appreciate how you tie Love and Joy together. That there can be no Joy without Love. You are a wise woman, indeed. :-)
Cheryl, Cheryl...
Oh, my what an incredible set of intentions you have gifted us with here. I am savoring every morsel. :-). "Lingering in loving thought..." that is one powerful statement! I do try to ascribe to that and it does bring a joyful, loving result. May we do so together.
And then this: "lift the veil of my guardedness and dance when unrecognized music begins to play..." Girl, you need to write your book! The Muse is surely flowing. I am going to copy this down in my journal and use it as a writing prompt. This is such a powerful invitation to live in grace—with Joy and Love as our dancing partners.
I too resonate with Cheryl
to live in love is to "lift the veil of my guardedness"
I think a state of body, mind, heart and soul that knows no limits stems from living our lives, our way. It's freeing to be in touch with our hearts and to act on what we find there. We're not harboring resentment or regret at not loving our selves, which in turn opens us to a bigger love. So to live my life in love, to me, means allowing my heart's passion a voice in my choices, my days.
"Joy is prayer - Joy is strength - Joy is love - Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls." I always think of the above quote from mother teresa. How love and joy are each others center, each others starting points. I don't think I can feel real love if I'm not living from that authentic center of joy.
great topic. and thanks for the plug!
What an amazing little breather I've just had, popping over to Jan's blog to see what people were talking about! I knew it would be good! Love, Joy...oh glee! Favorite subjects! Grace??? Love that too, and feel it coming from the same big place. These words: Love, Joy, Grace - they inspire my heart, my imagination, the way I walk in this world... when I remember... when I turn from my forgetting... and remember. Love and Joy to you Jan. Thank you for creating such a pocket of grace here today. xo, ing
This is such a great post from the photo to the post to all the wonderful comments! That brings joy to me! Thank you! xo
What it would mean to me to live my life in Love? Every breath I breath in would be filled with eternal Love, Joy, Hope, Peace, Forgiveness, Harmony,..... filling my lungs, my blood, my cells, my being, my soul ... to overflowing.... then exhale the doubts, angers, resentments, lack of self worth,.... only to breath in again the fullness of all that is, all that's been and all that will be... to lift my heart, mind and soul to new heights, higher vibrations: Love.... to exhale the day to day grind, exhale the person that cut me off in traffic, exhale the spouse that doesn't do as I'd like... exhale the negative emotions.... inhale and exhale, as the Phoenix constant rebirth, re growth, through Forgiveness and Grace to Light, to Hope, to Truth of Spirit... to Love and Joy.... To live in Love is to Live in rebirths of mind and soul, always waking to a higher plane, a higher purpose, a higher Love, a higher Joy... Thank you Jan for taking on such a journey. With Love, Joy and Light, Nina P.
Molly,
Such wisdom! I concur that Joy is a choice, as is Love, as is Peace. When my life became overwhelming many years ago, I had to make a conscious choice to choose peace, moment-by-moment, day-by-day. In those decision-making moments, peace was embraced and, in time, became my mantra and wellspring of a new lifestyle. Choosing Peace, literally, saved my life. :-)
Today, I am feeling the same about Joy...And when we are in the eternal present (as you say), our Peace, Love and Joy are naturally there. Yes, 'tis true!
Tabitha,
I am so glad you ARE choosing Joy, Tabitha, and it really shines through. Blessings!
Mermaid,
"The expansive nature of the heart"— I love that, and how it allows us to feel both Love and Joy. Yes, that's it. :-) There is nothing more beneficial (to everyone, including ourselves) than living with a wide-open heart!
(The artist is mentioned in the bottom of the post as well as the website. Yes, I love this image too!)
Kel,
We are in sync then. Isn't that line just amazing? Just the thought of lifting any veil that keeps us from living as our truest selves makes my heart dance...
Joanne,
Another wonderful thought. That living our choice life, through the wide-open portals of our heart honors us (and others) enough to usher in profound Joy. Oh, yes, I am with you here....And I am so glad YOU have been able to live in this soulful way. :-)
Brandi,
I do love that quote by Mother. I appreciate that for you Love and Joy are inextricably interwoven; no separation exists. A beautiful way to live...
Ingrid!
Ms. Joy herself. I am so glad you are here. Grace...I agree, what a lovely word. It is filled with both the essence of Love, Peace, AND, that magical third—Joy. And you remind us so well that this is not just a transient state of mind, but the way we choose to walk in the world. You are living proof of that...
Diantha,
So glad all these words and heartfelt thoughts touched you today. Hugs!
Nina,
What a lovely journey you've described of breathing in Joy and exhaling all that keeps us from experiencing it fully. :-) I'm loving your statement: "To live in Love is to live in rebirths of mind and soul, always waking to a higher plane, a higher purpose, a higher Love, a higher Joy..." Beautifully said! Truly, there is no higher purpose...So glad we have connected. :-)
My answer would be a post in itself, I think. :o)
For me, truly loving another human being also encompasses the acts of forgiveness and creating spaces of grace for others where they can muddle along, make mistakes, and not feel that they're being graded on how well they're measuring up in my eyes.
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