 Recently there has been challenges thrown my way and I believe these challenges are opportunities to grow and change. It can be funny how you never know how high you can jump until you are asked to. Either out of necessity or you are being asked to. But, during these challenging times, it is very oh so very easy to allow stress to overtake you. Stress is a real thing, and when I feel it, I really feel it emotionally and physically. Can anyone agree with me?
In my studies of the word joy, I see and am beginning to understand that this joy is rich, full, abundant and can be accessed at any given moment :-) Joy as I am learning is like a well that is continuously flowing with fresh water and the more times you access this well, the more there seems to be. It is almost seems that the less you go to this well, the more it dries up. One way to access this joy is to embrace joy from others and accepting it in your environment. Joy is a big-sounding word, and so we tend to look for classic expressions of “big” joy — huge smiles, exclamations of delight, hugs and cheers. The kind of joy associated with winning the lottery and marriage proposals. Yet other forms of joy exist all around us. As you begin to look for joy, you will notice more and more of them. There is the joy of pleasures, simple or sublime, such as enjoying a delicious meal, listening to music, or savoring how it feels to hold a baby in your arms. There is the joy of purpose, and how it feels to contribute, work hard, learn, and grow. There is the joy of being connected to something bigger than yourself, be it nature, family, or faith. There is the joy of having your needs met — being helped, listened to, or held in a comforting embrace. There is the joy of laughter, and especially shared laughter, and especially shared laughter when everything seems to be falling apart. These are just a few of the possible joys you can witness. When you keep your eyes open for them, you learn a lot about how much possibility there is for joy for ordinary moments, and even difficult circumstances. How to catch joy Here are five favorite everyday practices for catching joy. As you strengthen your intention to notice joy, you will surely discover your own favorite ways to witness and share in the joy of others.
Be full of Joy, Coach Milton  What is joy? In our process of maturing, we often think that joy is the result of happy circumstances. And it may be. I have seen a little new born and think wow and I had a feeling of joy.
We find joy in happy experiences and in our relationships with our loved ones. But joy is a deeper thing than just the result of happy circumstances. If it were only such a result, there would be times, many times, when we could not have joy; and in Truth, joy is always ours. A more mature view of joy is that it is a by-product of serving others, of sharing good. It may be the sense of a job well and honestly done. But joy is even more than this. It is not a result of anything—of good deeds, of doing work well, of anything else. Joy is not a result; it is a cause. It can happen to us, but we can also make it happen and make other things happen because of it. Joy is a spiritual principle that we can lay hold of and use. It is a principle that we can use all the time, whether outer conditions are as favorable as we would like them to be or not. And if they are not what we wish, we can do more than put up with them; we can make them improve by using the principle of spiritual joy. Joy is a good influence in any situation, and there are many ways we can express joy, with positive thoughts, pleasant words, a smile, even by using our sense of humor As Nehemiah said, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10), because joy in our inward being irresistibly calls forth joy in the outer world. We cannot wait for circumstances to bring us joy; we must make our own joy and let it act upon circumstances. One of the paradoxes of Truth is that a happy heart draws to itself all that it needs for happiness. And we can keep our hearts happy by drawing on the wellspring of joy that is a part of our spiritual nature. Any problem or trouble can be overcome by the power of joy. Some overcomings take longer than others. But even if we are dealing with a problem of long standing, that is no reason to despair or to give up hope of solving new problems that come along. But how do we cultivate joy in the heart, more joy in our lives? Use is the law of increase. If we want more joy, we must use joy. We must lay hold on joy, and let it well up from within us through thought, word, and action. First, we must realize that God is the source of our joy, the only Source. People and things and situations are wonderful when all is well, but since they may change, we must not place our spiritual dependence on them. We must depend on the Source which cannot change and from which all good flows. Second, we must be poised and centered in the Christ mind to use the power of joy. We can make our work and play alike, pleasant and creative, if we practice the presence of God. When we realize that we are always one with God, we work with the joy and ease of the power of God within us. Even when our attention is on the work at hand, we can learn to go through every day with the feeling of God’s presence, with the knowledge of God’s love, power, and joy flowing through us. Third, being centered in the Christ mind, we can speak the word and do that which is needed to bring forth joy. Remember: ... But suppose we cannot feel any joy in our being? Are there ways we can make it spring up? Indeed there are! There are material ways, such as cheering ourselves up with bright clothes, a bouquet of flowers, a good dinner, or some other pleasant experience. We should also, however, use the spiritual ways of cultivating joy. We can stop turning our attention so far inward on our own personal universe and its problems. We can turn outward instead, to consider others and what we can do for them. When we can bring joy to others, we always find joy ourselves. … Another way we can increase in our hearts is by counting our blessings and giving thanks for them. We do not need a great stimulus to feel the joy of giving thanks. If we appreciate the smallest blessing that comes to us or that has always been with us, and take nothing for granted, we find that we are living in a constant state of joy. There are three chief things to remember about joy if we want its power to live by. It is the cause, not the effect, of good in our lives. It increases for us through use, because when we speak, think, and act with joy, there is no room for anything else in our lives. We can cultivate joy with material helps and by serving others, turning our attention outward rather than inward, and giving sincere thanks to God for all our blessings. Be encouraged , Coach Milton 
The moment I decided to have children , I knew there were going to be days that my affection for them was not always going to be as strong as the first when they were born. And, it has proven correct. I have loved them and cherished them more and more, what I experienced at their birth was one kind of joy and now that most are adults I have a different type of joy for them. In my raising of children I have found that not only do I have joy for them, I didn’t stumble upon that joy. This joy didn’t just happen to me it was a choice to want to expereince this joy, love, awe and amazement. So each day I choose to be joyous of my children despite the obstacles along he way. Some Keys On How I’ve Made Joy A Choice:
I guarantee that if you would step out into this space in which I love to reside, a world full of joy will open up to you and present miracles you would’nt even imagine. Coach Milton Everyone could use more happiness; we are never truly 100% happy with our lives. If you want to know the science of happiness and how to be more happy, this infographic does a great job of breaking it down for you. The hippocampus is the area of the brain that is responsible for happiness and memories, so you really should know how to feed and nurture it to help boost your mood in down times. Can you guess what the top four happiest occupations are in the world? What about the two countries with the most optimistic people, or the two countries with the most satisfied people are? The answers, which can be found on the infographic, may surprise you. As you probably already know, the country you live in has a lot to do with how happy you are. The happiest people in the world happen to live in Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands and Australia. So a move from one country to another could be all you need to really give yourself a happiness boost.  Other things that can help include getting more exercising, sleeping more (if you’re not sleeping enough) and helping out in your community. What methods do you use to increase your happiness and boost your mood?
Coach Milton |
Milton is genuine, persistent, and sincere. There are very few things that detract Milton from his pursuit of what he believes in. His attitude is fantastic and professionalism top notch. - AuthorInternational speaker, creator of Maximizing Moments with Milton and the Author of Your Purpose, Your App -How to Stop Drifting and Start Living. Archives
December 2022
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