When I went to hand-wash my dishes, all three bottles of Joy dishwasher liquid were empty. There was no joy in my house. I had run out of Joy to wash my dishes; I had run out of joy to smile.
My friend’s name is Joy. Several years ago I promised to pray for her and her son Andrew, who has down-syndrome, every time I washed my dishes. My dishes needed to be cleaned, and I needed to pray for my friends.
How to find Joy when you run out
If you are talking about Joy dish soap, buy another bottle of soap when you run out. It is on the bottom shelf in the dish soap aisle; aisle seven in my grocery store.
How to find joy when you run out
If you are talking about feeling joy, and not washing your dishes, think of one thing you are thankful for.
Just one thing.
Some days all I am thankful for is that William Mallow invented clumping cat litter. (We have six cats and seven litter boxes.)
According to dictionary.com, joy is the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying.
Joy is caused by something.
What if we could control how we felt? What if we could create the emotion of great delight or happiness by how we think and act?
What gave you delight when you were a child? Playing? Reading a book? Taking a nap? Dreaming?
Play. Read. Sleep. Dream.
Do something kind for someone else.
Exercise.
Write a letter and tell someone how they helped you.
Puppies ?
I read an article on-line that suggested you get a puppy to find joy. ( I think a cat would be better.)
Puppies and cats bring joy but they also poop and eat food and scratch and are loud.
You don’t have to buy something to find joy.
You don’t have to play or read or sleep or dream or do something kind for someone else, or exercise or write a letter to find joy. They might help.
But, the main thing to find joy, to feel delight or happiness, is to be kind. Be kind to yourself.
You are enough.
If you don’t want to feel joy, let me give you some suggestions how to never find joy. I follow these suggestions more often than I am grateful. A daily crabby lady.
How to never find joy
1. Compare.
2. Think about all the mistakes you made in the past.
3. Stay up really late.
4. Eat crappy food so your body and brain don’t get fed.
5. Never be grateful for anything.
6. Never say thank you.
7. Gossip about all your friends.
“Comparison is the death of joy.”
― Mark Twain
8. Think negative thoughts all the time.
9. Never learn anything new.
10. Never exercise.
11. Whine.
12. Dwell on everything negative that was ever said to you.
13. Never forgive. Hold a grudge.
14. Grimace at your face in the mirror.
15. Don’t floss your teeth.
16. Fill in the blank.
I hope you find joy today. I hope you are kind to yourself. May you have enough soap to wash your dishes and enough joy to help you smile.
xo
Pamela
p.s.
If you would like me to pray for you when I wash my dishes, put your name in the comments, or email me, pamela@ipaintiwrite.com. Sometimes you will get prayed for three times a day, or once a day, and sometimes it might be every other day, or once a week. Sometimes my kitchen is clean, and sometimes I am writing or painting and don’t wash dishes until every plate in the house is dirty.
p.p.s. My friend is giving away a book, 7 Secrets to Winning in Self-Publishing in 2017 for a limited time. She can help you self-publish your book.
click HERE to comment
