My mother was in hospital this week to get her left knee replaced. It was a whirlwind tour: Surgery late Wednesday afternoon and back at home less than 48 hours later. She’s in pain but things seem to be going well.
While trying to escape the maze of the hospital, I stumbled into a hallway, crowned with a sign which read: “I Deserve the Colour of Joy.”
Wikipedia poetically defines color as a “characteristic of human visual perception.” Joy, too, is about perception. If we choose to see the best in the world, our brains re-wire themselves to be more positive. When we complain, or get scared or focus on the negative, our brains create synapses that make us more attuned to these negative forces.
If we take the right actions like being grateful and mindful and choose not to complain, most of us can find happiness.
So make a conscious choice today to choose joy.
You deserve it.
And boy, couldn’t the world use more joy. Thanks for the reminder. š
Now, more than ever!
Really LOVE this post! I think it is so true, if we make a conscious effort to speak positively and not negatively our entire being FEELS good and our happy disposition on life is an inspiration to others. Happiness helps ward off illness as well. Hope your Mom is feeling better!
So true! My mom is back at home and feeling a little better each day. Thanks for the well wishes!
Thanks for this.. It’s a daily decision that we make.. It’s not that easy, but it’s better than any alternative, in my opinion.
Yes! We all deserve the color of joy to paint our lives with. How this looks will be unique to us all. And, importantly, does not mean we gloss over the very real trouble and pain we experience. Painting our lives in joy means (to me) embracing the power of AND. We experience pain AND we choose to see the good. These are not mutually exclusive. We can choose the practice of joy the same way we choose to train for a run, or practice piano. We paint in the color of joy when we look at painful experiences as part of our lives RIGHT NOW, but not the place we choose to live forever. I love the simple message to choose the picture we see, not to deny reality, but to find a way to change our mental environment for the better.
Yes, the brain sure is an amazing thing. When I started practicing daily gratitudes to reduce my anxiety I thought it was silly and pretentious. Fast forward 6 months and I wonder how I ever got through anything without them. And, to top it off, when you practice being a positive person you attract positive people, which makes it easier to be positive, which attracts more positive people, etc. It’s a lovely circle.
Yes so true