Perhaps the most radical act of resistance
in the face of adversity is to live joyfully.
Ari Honarvar

How we handle adversity says a lot about who and what we are. Life is not always easy or pleasant. Bad, even horrible things sometimes happen. There are times and events that happen that hurt deeply and leave scars that will remind us of the trials and sorrows forever. What we do and don’t do during and after the hurt determines how we live, how we continue our journey.

When we live joyfully, the less than perfect circumstances and situations that we face are not as bad as they could be. Joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness comes and goes. Yes, it feels so good when we are in that moment. But that moment is just that, a brief time of feeling special and good and well and happy, it isn’t lasting. Oh, there are fond memories of happiness and it is good to remember those times and happenings. Without the memories of happiness life would be small and trivial.

But joy is not dependent on what is or is not happening. It is a state of being that resides in the heart. It is a warmth that cannot be cooled by the day to day business of life. It is a strength that cannot be weakened by an adversary no matter how big or threatening. It is a knowing that doesn’t allow lies or false beliefs to become truth.

Joy is within all of us. It is not loud and bossy fighting to be felt or heard. It waits for us to acknowledge it, to welcome it, to be thankful, and allow it to do its work in us. Once we begin joyfully living no one can take it away from us. There are those who will try to take it away, even the devil will try. But once we claim that joy it’s ours forever.

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