How oppressed, afflicted, or anxious are you? How blessed are you? Does it depend on what type of day you are having? Or does it depend on your attitude and/or how much love you have in your heart?
There is no joy without love, and true joy is rooted in love. The amazing love Christ showed for us on the cross defies any trial we will ever face. I remind myself frequently while at Mass by praying at the crucifix and trying to imagine what Jesus went through for us.
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, on Him the chastisement that made us whole, and with His stripes, we are healed”
(Isaiah 53)
The following lines from the poem “Palco de Vida,” attributed to the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, offer some valuable insights for staying focused on love, which is the foundation for joyful living.
“Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without a storm, a road without accidents, work without fatigue, relationships without disappointments. To be happy is to find strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in the stage of fear, love in discord. It is not only to enjoy the smile, but also to reflect on the sadness. It is not only to celebrate the successes, but to learn lessons from the failures.
To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destiny’s author. It is to cross deserts, yet to be able to find an oasis in the depths of our soul.It is to thank God for every morning, for the miracle of life. Being happy is not being afraid of your own feelings. It’s to be able to talk about you. It is having the courage to hear a “no.” It is confidence in the face of criticism, even when unjustified. It is to kiss your children, pamper your parents, to live poetic moments with friends, even when they hurt us.
To be happy is to let live the creature that lives in each of us, free, joyful and simple. To be happy is to have maturity to be able to say: “I made mistakes”. It is to have the courage to say “I am sorry”. It is to have the sensitivity to say, “I need you”. It is to have the ability to say “I love you”.
May your life become a garden of opportunities for happiness … That in spring may it be a lover of joy, in winter a lover of wisdom. And when you make a mistake, start all over again. For only then will you be in love with life. You will find that to be happy is not to have a perfect life. But use the tears to irrigate tolerance. Use your losses to train patience. Use your mistakes to sculpture serenity. Use pain to plaster pleasure. Use obstacles to open windows of intelligence. Never give up …. Never give up on people who love you. Never give up on happiness, for life is an incredible show.” – Fernando Pessoa
The answer for modeling joy is found in the greatest commandment: Love. Being truly joyful people is really about how deeply we love. True joy weathers any storm.
