Eat famous phrase“Always rejoice!” But many newcomers are confused by the fact that in the temple you can not often see the smiles of believers; their faces are rather stern, or even gloomy. It’s as if the believers decided: since I go to church, I must be very serious. It turns out a strange discrepancy, which greatly confuses neophytes.
We decided to talk about imaginary and real joy and how to achieve it with the priest of the Church of the Kazan Icon Mother of God on Red Square by Igor FOMIN.
Two at the window
I would like to start my answer with an example. Two people look out the window at night and see a traveler on the street. One says: “Surely this is a terrible robber. He robbed, killed, drank, fornicated, and now he can barely drag his feet.” The other replies: “No, no! This wonderful person. He probably worked all day at work and went to church for service in the evening. Then he helped someone else, and now he’s going home.” So let's initially justify people, and not condemn them, agreed?
If you answer the question what is joy, I think it is external manifestation love. When in any circumstances, with any people you can communicate in such a way, look into their eyes in such a way that their souls will become brighter and purer. It's nice to be around a joyful person.
I remember my first meeting with the famous elder Kirill (Pavlov) from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. At that time I was still a seminary student and went to Father Kirill because of selfish feelings: everyone is going - and I, too, need to join spirituality. ...After a long wait, my turn came. Father Kirill invited me to his cell, sat me down on a chair, joked, and gave me an icon. And I was as if out of my mind, watching him in shock. And he left with an extraordinary feeling of joy. This feeling is similar to how you enter a heated room from the cold: you are immediately embraced by warmth. And here is love. I did not expect this then and remembered this first meeting for the rest of my life.
Gold sinks, garbage floats...
I can say about unsmiling believers... You know, gold always sinks, but garbage floats up and catches your eye. If you calm down your irritation with others a little and take a closer look, you will definitely see these hidden little pieces of gold. A sign that a person is the right way in the matter of saving your soul - this is precisely joy and love. The Lord gave clear definition who His disciples are: they will be known by the fact that they will be in love each other. However, the presence of people with a “minus” sign in the temple does not mean that there is no one with a “plus” sign. If you want to find good things, you will definitely find them.
So that routine does not obscure Christ
You can find out whether your joy is real or not by its fruits. For example, people gathered for a picnic outside the city, grilled kebabs, talked happily, drank, and left after midnight. Everything seems to be fine. And in the morning one has a headache with a hangover, another is counting how many of his dishes were broken and lost, the third has a sore leg: yesterday he went for a swim and injured himself. It's the consequences that matter.
Spiritual joy is completely different. Each of you has probably experienced this. Come to a concert of classical or folk music that has nothing to do with Orthodoxy. For example, the Kuban Choir comes to Moscow every year, I always go to listen to it. And you know, they start singing - and you just cry. This is an indicator that joy is spiritual. And in the morning you wake up with a light heart, your head doesn’t hurt and you don’t regret the evening you spent. The Savior Himself, the apostles, and prophets say that joy is one of the fundamental moments of God’s existence. And it is very important that a believer who is spiritually educated fulfills external rules– did not lose this joy, did not walk around with a sullen, pompous face, as some do today, believing that this is an important indicator of their faith.
It also happens. It is easy and joyful for a person to be in church. You go out as if on wings: “I’m ready to embrace the whole world!” You go into the subway and someone steps on your foot. As often happens with us, we stepped on a little, but got back a lot - and off we go: “Oh, you cow, watch where you’re going!” And grace flew away from you, and in its place was emptiness. Then thoughts about earthly things begin: “I’ll come home now. There are so many things that need to be done... Prepare dinner, hit my eldest son in the ear - he probably didn’t do his homework, nail down a shelf...” It was as if the person had never been in the temple. That is, it is very important to be able to preserve this fragile joy.
U English writer and the theologian Clive Lewis has a story “Dissolution of Marriage” that fits our topic. Its plot is briefly as follows. There is a day when a train arrives from hell to heaven, dead sinners can see what they have lost. And then two people meet in heaven. In earthly life they studied together at the university at the theological faculty. One became a bishop - and after death he went to hell. And the other became a theologian and went to heaven. He says to the bishop: “Listen, you need to have time to climb this mountain before dawn. Christ will meet you there - and then you will stay here forever. Let's go faster. I will help you". And the bishop answers: “You see, there, in the underworld, we have a theological circle scheduled for tomorrow. I will need to give a presentation on the topic of Christ: what He would be like if he lived to be 50 years old. I would love to get up, but I can’t” – “What a circle! Here’s the mountain, drop everything and let’s go!” - “The train is leaving soon, I might be late. And my report...” And he leaves without climbing the mountain. And Christ was very close by. I had to throw off this whole routine and just go towards Him. This pompousness obscures joy from a person, obscures the Lord himself. This does not mean that you need to stop washing dishes, vacuuming - no, there are necessary things - I’m talking about the attitude towards them.
"My joy"
There is another point related to joy. This is a protective remedy against any scandals. If you translate everything, let’s say, into a funny, smiling plane, very often they will simply not contact you - you still won’t get angry.
As we know, Seraphim of Sarov greeted everyone: “Hello, my joy!” This is a unique saint who fled from the world, and the world itself ran to him. It seems to me that the words “my joy,” spoken with love, are what can disarm the rude person in the family. I specifically limit myself family problems, because we read: we must love our neighbor. But how much easier it is to love from a distance! They say that love for one's neighbor is measured in kilometers: the further, the stronger. When the person living next to you snores, swears, drinks... It is very difficult to love him lying flat on the sofa in a drunken state or lying near the front door. Bringing joy into our lives is like grafting an orchid onto an apple tree. Don’t walk around with this smiling mask, don’t force yourself to hug and kiss everyone and shout: “I love you!” And here the Lord gives us a very clear answer. In the 15th chapter of the Gospel of John there is a direct speech of Christ to us. He compares Himself to a vine, us to branches, and our actions to a bunch of grapes. And there are words there that the Heavenly Father will give us everything we ask, as long as there are fruits - good deeds. Vine receives double nutrition: from the earth juices, water and from the air - sunlight. That is, there must be harmony in our communication with the heavenly, spiritual and earthly worlds. And our fruit should be born in such a way that our neighbors can easily live next to us.
It happens that a loved one is happy, as it seems to you, over some nonsense. His beloved won football team. There is no need to spoil his mood: “Well, is your stupid football over? Finally, go get some milk, you goat!” Sorry for being rude, on the outside everything may sound much softer, but in our hearts we are grumbling and indignant. And the person’s good mood is destroyed. Turn him into peaceful course, rejoice with him, sit next to him. Maybe he will see that you understand him - and will stop drinking or not noticing you; on the contrary, you will become closer in a new way.
And most importantly: joy cannot be taught if a person does not feel it. He must understand this himself. Otherwise, at least all the saints will gather and beg you: “Don’t look at me as the embodiment of the world’s grief. Smile at your mother-in-law, wife, children. So what if your family upsets you? ” – there will be no sense. Just as it is impossible to force a person to be a believer until he comes to this through his own experience. That person may laugh at you. mock. And then he will be left alone and think: “How good he is, he hasn’t done anything bad to me. Afterwards it’s easy on the soul.”
It will certainly help a lot in your search for joy. Holy Bible. There are so many places in it that open up a completely stunning world for a person, a world of spiritual joy. Every morning we get up and look in the mirror, brush our teeth, comb our hair, and preen ourselves. We put on a show to go out to people in decent form. And the Holy Scriptures are the mirror of our soul. You’ll look there and say to yourself: “Oh! How twisted you are, my friend. We need to change something, we need to catch up.” We can't even imagine What The Lord gave it to us. A person can read this small book - the Gospel - throughout his life and each time find something new and live by it.
The Lord gave us wonderful starting capital: mind, heart, soul. We cannot waste it all, like the youngest son from the famous Parable of prodigal son. But you cannot, as the eldest son, demand a reward from your father. The best way– royal, in the middle: repentance and humility from youngest son and the hard work of the elder. And it will turn out wonderful joyful man.
Recorded by Elena Merkulova
There is a stereotype that Christians are very sad people that they can’t do everything, but want everything, that they are all kind of downtrodden, sad and don’t know how to enjoy life at all. But this is not true.
There are thousands of things in the world that you cannot help but rejoice at, regardless of whether you are a believer or not. How can one not rejoice at the beauty of the sky, the singing of birds, the morning rays of the sun? Whose heart is not gladdened by wedding songs and laughing children? Who is not consoled by meeting true friends? Christians do not at all renounce all these universal human joys.
However, people who believe in Christ also have a special - Christian joy, which an unbeliever does not have. What is the joy of a Christian about? First of all, about God. When a person feels the call of God within himself and responds to it with faith, he begins to feel great love the Almighty to yourself and notice its effect in your life. This may seem like some kind of fairy tale or banality to someone who does not believe in God. But it is enough to trust the Lord one day, turn to Him as if He were alive - and He is a living, personal God - and life will change.
Don’t you dare say, “Nobody loves me.” The Creator came to earth and showed His love to man. And when a person reciprocates this love, he experiences an incomparable joy that no one can take away from him...
Belief in God solves the fundamental question of the meaning of existence. Christianity gives life genuine, lasting meaning. It is incommensurably higher than the meaning that non-believers sometimes try to give to our lives: giving birth to offspring, building a house and planting a tree. The immortal soul of man resolutely rejects such a primitive meaning of earthly existence. “What then? What AFTER the offspring, the house and the tree? What will happen to me next? - our consciousness screams, anticipating the infinity of personal existence.
The meaning of life is for us to remain in God's love forever! Do you understand? We don’t live so that a burdock will grow on our grave and the cow will eat it. We are promised eternal joy with our Lord! And we partially experience this state here on earth. Is it possible not to be happy about this?
I can’t help but rejoice that God needs me. Here on earth, I can be betrayed, slandered, deceived... But my immortal soul has great value in the eyes of God. And even if a feeling of despondency comes to me, I still remember and know that I have a Heavenly Father and I am dear to Him. All our friends and relatives may abandon us, but the Lord will never abandon us.
A believer is one who has already found the Kingdom of God and carries it in his heart. The Savior spoke about this in a parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid, and for joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44). What is the Kingdom of Heaven? This is the great joy of communion with God. “The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17), wrote the Apostle Paul.
All the universal joys that a non-believer has in his life are familiar to a believer. But the believer rejoices more! He sees the hand of the Creator in everything and communicates with Him already here on earth. A Christian is the most joyful person in the world. At least that's how it should be.
Congratulations, brothers and sisters! The joys of life and the joys of faith.
Sergey Komarov
Orthodox Life
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All people want to be happy, joyful, enjoy every moment, see and feel the colors of life. Joy and positivity make our life bright, it is devoid of negativity and dullness.
But what is joy? You can read the definition briefly below. And you will also know where it comes from, and why it is so difficult for many to control their emotional state while remaining joyful. Why do some people look for it where there can be no talk of joy and do not notice its sources next to them?
Joy: meaning and synonym
What definition can be given to this concept? Joy is a source of strength, inspiration, muse, kind and bright energy that helps the heart live in kindness, warmth and peace with itself and others. This is the path to literate and simple attitude to life and all the things that happen in it, which are not always easy.
Synonyms for the word “joy” are “fun”, “rejoicing”, “delight”. This indicates that joy helps us to be more optimistic, happier, which means that it is a source of strong energy.
Joy is a feeling of inner bliss and pleasure.
Why do people need joy?
Joy is one of the main positive human emotions. A person needs it for the following reasons:
- Joy is a good indicator of the right choice. When a truly competent, evaluated decision is made, a person cannot be sad, because he does not go against his conscience, against his moral principles and values. You immediately feel a surge of strength. If something goes wrong, incorrectly, then all the joy immediately disappears.
- Joyful people are always liked more by others. Try to evaluate for yourself a gloomy person who always complains about life and a person who shines with a smile and who radiates positivity. Which one of them would you most like to be in the company of? The answer is obvious.
People who are able to be joyful even in the face of difficulties are truly strong and intelligent individuals! This is always immediately felt and practically visible naked eye. So your, if not constant, then frequent joy is an indicator of moral strength and intelligence.
What is the source of joy?
Every person has their own source of joy. So, for some, buying an expensive foreign car, vacationing at an expensive resort, a chic blonde or a blonde nearby, an expensive phone, jewelry is the reason for happiness. Another may be overwhelmed by unexpected joy, but so sincere and strong for completely different reasons - the sun, appearing for the first time in a time of gloomy times. winter days, the smell of flowers, a child’s smile, hugs, warm memories, laughter with friends. Everett Sjostrom said a wise thing: “It is important to enjoy the process of life, not the achievement of its goals.” And little things are this process of life, so it is invaluable to learn to enjoy insignificant things and notice them.
Different sources of joy are explained by the fact that all people have different values in life, but the most important detail in this is the ability to appreciate. If you cannot appreciate what you have now, you will never understand what the real joy of life is! If a person has learned to love every day of his life, people, communication with them, he will know joy and happiness in their full depth. If some things are not valuable to you, then they will be closed as sources of joy until you reconsider your views.
But it is necessary to set priorities correctly. It's important to appreciate everything equally because if you deprive yourself of one part of your life, you will not be able to succeed in another or fully enjoy other things. Learn not to lose the value of things, and you will never be able to remove joy, happiness from your days.
What types of joy are there?
On at this stage time, the following types of joy are distinguished:
- Dark joy. That is, the moment when a person takes pleasure in doing bad things to others, no matter whether they are close or strangers. In other words, extracting joy from someone else’s grief and difficulties. If you are experiencing positive emotions When you see someone else’s misfortune, you can safely draw conclusions about problems with self-esteem.
- Nasty, dishonest joy. The feeling that a person experiences when he does something vile, for example, he spread false dirty gossip, and everyone believed in it - joy, and if at the same time it caused a wide response from society - he is simply in seventh heaven. Stole an item and went unpunished, deceived, betrayed loved one who didn't know about it. If all this causes joyful emotions, then this also has to do with internal problems personality. Such joy has a very close connection with darkness.
- Instant but intense joy. This happens at every step, which is very good: a long-awaited purchase, a birthday, victory in competitions, a new achievement, a wedding and many other events that you attach great importance. These are all excellent and quite important things in the life of every person, but, as a rule, they are short-lived.
- Lasting joy. It is usually deep, spiritual. For example, sincere love for a person, parents, friend, world, true friendship, gratitude. And also, which is important, you need to be able to not only receive good from everything around, but also give this good. Everything that you give into the Universe comes back to you in threefold form.
In order for that same sincere, unexpected joy to visit you more often, you need to stop accumulating negative emotions, worries, grievances, anger, you need to be able to radiate positive energy. You need to train for more than one day, but if you succeed, then you will be able to accept the joy that the Universe sends every day.
Therefore, the quality and duration of joy directly depend on emotional state person, as well as the efforts he puts into it.
What is necessary for the continuous growth of joy?
In order to learn to rejoice more, you should consider the following factors.
We will rejoice when we learn to be grateful. Learn to appreciate what you have, and you will never be sad over little things again.
You should stop worrying about the fact that something might be wrong with you. It’s enough just to stop comparing yourself to others, stop worrying about other people’s opinions. It’s better to stop and analyze what will happen to you if suddenly some passer-by forms the wrong assessment about you. Joyful and happy man, happy with life will not attach any importance to this. This is freedom - to be yourself and not be afraid that you will be judged, your views and point of view, values will be challenged. This is purely their business. Just move on.
It is very important to find the positives in everything that happens to you. How true optimists do it. Of course, everyone has periods when, it would seem, nothing good can be seen at all. But every situation has many sides, and having looked at several and understood them, you will definitely find something good that you can rejoice at. You should always carry a feeling of happiness in your soul, then in reality it will not keep you waiting. One can cite the words of Lucius Annaeus Seneca as proof of this: “He who knows what to rejoice at has reached the top.”
Communication with others helps a lot. Try talking for a couple of minutes on a completely ordinary topic with an absolutely stranger for no particular reason. Perhaps you will make new friends. In any case, meeting new people always brings positive emotions.
Do what makes you happy. Immerse yourself in it headlong, feel yourself in this state and save this feeling in itself. For everyone it can be completely different things. Perhaps you feel several times better when you dance, play sports, or, conversely, sit for several hours a day, putting together complex puzzles, solving logic problems playing chess. The main thing is to find this hobby and enjoy it. Joy will always be present when doing what you love.
In both sadness and joy, be simpler and approach everything with humor. Sometimes it's worth being a child. Too much serious attitude never made anyone more joyful.
What stops us from being happy for other people?
A common reason for this can be envy. Try to curb this feeling, respect yourself, your nerves and just be happy for the person.
Look at the situation from a different angle, imagine yourself in the place of the person you envy, and then set your own goals and strive for them.
How to respond to those who want evil rather than good?
In both sorrow and joy, do not pay attention to ill-wishers. Just go your own way, proving your point of view to everyone by striving for a goal, by actions, and not by retaliatory aggression. Enjoy every moment of life.
If you learn to understand the nature of people, their motives, views, body language, then it will be easier for you to find the key to them and, of course, you will know how to please them. As you already know, by bringing joy to people, you yourself become a little happier.
Why do we like joyful people more?
Because they are beautiful. Indeed, joyful people, smiling, sparkling with jokes and positivity, look much more attractive in the eyes of others. In addition, they infect us with their optimism and good mood. Joyful people are easy people.
How to learn to look at the world positively?
One technique can be the child's gaze. Look at everything through the eyes of little children. They truly know how to see the beauty in every thing. They know how to create unexpected joy almost out of nowhere and spread it to everyone around them.
Children are uncontrollably happy about the snow, because then their parents can ride them on a sled.
Kids enjoy the heat because then they can play, douse themselves with water, and ride a bike. These are the teachers we should really learn from.
Joy: Quotes about Joy
- “You must always be joyful. If joy ends, look for what you did wrong” (Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy).
- “If you have mastered the art of enjoying every moment, then you have learned a lot” (Azad).
- “There is pain and sadness in this world... But there is much more joy and love in it!” ("Kubo: Legend of the Samurai").
Having understood what you need for joy, good health, what things and people evoke the most pleasant emotions and states, what hobbies make you feel on top of the world, in seventh heaven - strive for them, do everything in your power.
Still, joy and happiness are things that absolutely everyone can achieve. They make our lives much more pleasant, bright, filled with moments that we want to live again and again. Be strong personalities, share optimism and enjoy your even small joy!
What is joy? Probably, this question worries people because we, for the most part, have forgotten when we truly rejoiced in last time. Or we remember, but our emotion at that moment was fleeting, it was a long time ago. Today I have been consumed by routine. And periodic attempts to rejoice do not bring a feeling of deep satisfaction.
What is joy?
We eat a piece of cake and we want to eat more. Having eaten, we often feel heaviness and disappointment in ourselves that we again could not resist, lost our temper, and overate ourselves. In search of bright emotions, we start casual relationships, but this often simply devastates us and does not bring us anything new or good. And we are looking for new relationships. And so it is in everything. We need to stimulate ourselves again and again because we think that joy is about immediate pleasures. But is it?
What does science say?
Turning to explanatory dictionary Ushakova, we can learn that joy is a feeling of pleasure, satisfaction, a cheerful mood.
A synonym for the word joy is “delight.” We are happy when we receive something. When we have something. A synonym for the word joy is also “satisfaction.”
Is this sensation fleeting or does the person experience it? for a long time? One can argue: is joy a feeling or an emotion? That is, do we rejoice in relation to the situation as a whole or do we experience it in relation to to a certain person, subject. Some people call joy a “feeling.” Others say it's an "emotion." Essentially it's not that important.
Joy as an invention of marketers
We live in a world of excess production and consumption. Every day, from computer and television screens and advertising posters, we are offered hundreds of reasons to rejoice. Women will undoubtedly be delighted when they buy another new lipstick or visiting a luxurious spa, and men will be pleased with a modern spinning rod or tickets to a football match with the participation of their favorite team. And, of course, everyone, both children and adults, will enjoy an exquisite chocolate cake from a trusted manufacturer! Oh yes! We should definitely take a super effective multivitamin and drink yogurt in the morning to normalize digestion. And joy will come!
We spend money to experience vivid emotions. And unfortunately, we often find ourselves with an empty wallet. And empty inside.
The truth is that if we don't feel joy in our Everyday life, our exhausted holidays and weekends will also be joyless - we will suffer from a hangover, from indigestion, torment ourselves with thoughts of wasted money... So it turns out that joy is a passing emotion? Is it fleeting?
Joy in another person
Cheerfulness
But who is this cheerful person? Someone who knows how to find joy in the most ordinary everyday things, in the little things. The one who sets himself important goals and persistently achieves them. Someone who knows how to not only take, but also give something in return.
Revealing the meaning of the word joy, religion tells us that a person finds real joy by being closer to God, visiting temple, and doing good deeds large and small. A relationship with God is a personal matter for everyone, but it is true that selfish actions ultimately do not make a person happy and joyful, they only bring short-term satisfaction. But even the smallest good deeds inspire us to continue to do good deeds and further. We rejoice ourselves and sometimes receive rewards in the form of gratitude from other people, new acquaintances, and reciprocal kindness.
Joy is achieving goals
As already written above, joy is a fleeting emotion if a person does not receive satisfaction from life in general. It just so happened that at the beginning of his life a person - Blank sheet, on which all and sundry write. IN to a greater extent- parents, school, close friends. Environment. Sometimes our priorities are imposed on us by society. We supposedly have to study "excellently" or succeed in sports, or get married before twenty-five... We must. What do we really want? What will make us happy? Yes exactly. After all, life is a joy in itself. And if we are not happy, then something is wrong with our attitudes. This means that this is not what we are striving for. Or maybe we don’t strive for anything at all.
Maybe it's time to set yourself a goal, small but ambitious? To make your eyes light up. Draw up a strategy for achievement and... live and rejoice.
Joy is in the little things
Having set a goal for yourself and achieving it, do not forget to switch from time to time, have quality and interesting rest. Gain new impressions. Exercise. Yoga, swimming, running, ice skating always make you happy... Get creative.
Plan joyful events, write down all your plans and strategies in a diary and strictly adhere to them. Don't neglect the little things.
You can enjoy what surrounds you: good weather or bad (after all, you can wrap yourself in a blanket, drink a cup of delicious hot chocolate or mulled wine, watch your favorite movie), close people: your children, friends, those who are close to you and those who far.
visit different interesting events, meet new people.
Give thanks. Every day you can find five minutes to simply thank life for what it gives you, over a cup of tea. Say something nice to your loved ones.
Little things are important, but, of course, without a systematic movement forward in life, the implementation of your plans, joy will be incomplete. You need to not only receive, but also give. Then your life will be bright, fulfilling and joyful.