I just got back from a mid-day walk with Miss G. I’ve been trying to get out for a walk during the day more as a break from being at my computer.
Often times I listen to Hay House Radio which I download right to my ipod. Today as I was listening to one of the hosts, she was talking about how she tries to only post joyful things on her Facebook page because we have enough negativity in the world.
Someone posted and said, “Enough with the happiness stuff! Don’t you know a journalist was just beheaded?”
She wasn’t sure how to respond to this, but didn’t get angry. She thought about it and wondered how yes, there is plenty of bad in the world, but how do we balance that out without being insensitive to what our world is really like. But at the same time choosing to spread more joy?
I loved her guests response in that we do have to find balance. While we can’t ignore the news, we first have to be strong within ourselves. Which reminded me of the quote I posted on my Facebook page today:
To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right. – Confucius
The guest more or less said the same thing. We have to begin with healing ourselves. He also once believed that we should never surround ourselves with negative people, though he has changed his tune about that. But first he said, we have to become stronger ourselves. When we do, we must be out in the world sharing that joy and happiness – that this is the way to more joy and happiness for our world. In essence when we do, we give others permission and encouragement to do the same thing.
He said, “Depressed and angry people will not change this world, but people who are healing themselves and are happier, will.”
He went on to say that those who do the work of healing themselves by default live with more joy. It is then that we begin to want to give that back to the world. Just imagine if all of us did that? What a powerful impact we could make!
It’s what I wish with my joyful paws blog and thoughts I share and post on Facebook, as well as, in my newsletters. I want to contribute to the positive of the world, even though I know and understand there is plenty of bad in the world. I don’t try and block the ugly of the bad news out of my life, but I do keep it to a minimum as I’m very sensitive to it.
But I’ve also come to understand that I can make a difference, as can so many others, by sharing our joy even if it is only one small step or action at a time.
