Such a thought provoking post, Brooke! 😀 It reminded me of Brene Brown's book Atlas of the Heart where she defines joy as "an intense feeling of deep spiritual connection, pleasure and appreciation". She states that happiness is "feeling pleasure often related to the immediate environment of current circumstances". I think you hit the nail on the head for me when you say it is "deeply rooted in gratitude and connection". Perhaps so deeply rooted and internal that it is hard to define in a tangible way.
I hope it is ok to also share this poem from Donna Ashworth which 'coincidently' arrived in my inbox 5 hours before your post!
I have shifted away from "happy". For some reason it feels small and fleeting. "Joy" feels expansive and limitless. It feels deep and wise. Maybe it has something to do with my age, now that I am on the other side of 50. I want a richer, more meaninful life that is made up of little moments of joy.
I am excited to explore this with you and the group.
I feel a difference between joy and happiness. My take: Happiness is a state of wellbeing, and probably includes some feelings of contentment. Joy is something else - and yes, it may be present during times of hardship. I felt joy when walking through a fresh snowfall in the woods with a friend. Fluffy snow covered the pine branches and blanketed the banks of the streams- magical scenes all around us. We were the first humans to lay tracks on the trail that day. At one point, we stepped off the path and laid down in the snow on our backs. Being still and looking up through the snow-covered branches of the trees towards the morning sky, we felt…JOY!
I think I heard the difference for the first time in your podcast with Beth Kempton. I never thought about it before so it had a profound impact on me. (It could be one of your other podcasts though).
For me happiness is more a longer state of contentment, gratitude and living your values. Joy is more of a fleating experience. Brene Brown explains the image as an chain of flickering lights. The lights are joy and happiness is the cord.
I personally define happiness as a feeling more on the surface. In the middle of grief, for example, it is possible to have moments of happiness if someone makes you laugh, but grief is behind the happiness. Joy is a deeper feeling, a feeling rooted in gratitude.
But when I use google translate to translate the two, joy and happiness, into my first language, I'm not so sure anymore, haha! Emotions and feelings can be both tricky and fascinating at the same time.
Thank you for providing the audioversion of these letters, I truly enjoy them. Sometimes I read along with you, and sometimes I just sit back and listen. Other times I prefer to read myself. It's good to have the choice, so thank you.
Oh, and if you don't mind me asking, what's your new novel about? :)
Loved this post Brooke, plus everyone's comments. In Vedic philosophy they use the sanskrit term Sat-Chit-Ananda, which translates to truth-consciousness-bliss, and is the experience of unity or pure existence. Sometimes glimpsed or felt during meditation or when noticing moments of joy, peace or connection : )
Oh I love all these comments 🥰 joy to me is often fleeting but can last and last in our memories. Gratitude, contentment, family, friends and nature are often my joy filled moments.
I feel like happiness is a more general feeling of wellbeing whereas joy is a more intense moment or experience - like those you mentioned - and that joy does indeed 'leave a trail of luminescence in it's wake' - so beautifully expressed! I think we can easily identify those moments of joy in our lives - even when they are fleeting.
I think joy might be the noticing of happiness. The noticing of contentment, awe and connection. The feeling of warmth. And I so love what you say about it leaving a trail, staying around for a while after. I definitely see that 🤍
Brooke, I teared-up when you recounted that your daughter put her head on your shoulder during that pivotal scene in ‘Barbie’. 🥹 Joy indeed.
I frequently find joy and happiness with my dog, Wilbur. Just this morning, I thought how happy I feel when he comes to sit next to me on the couch. (He has several dog beds, and the human bed, as well as the couch; hence it makes me happy when he chooses to sit right next to me.) Plus, I felt absolute joy when I was lying next to him on the bed, patting him, and watching him snooze.
Towards the end of last year I made a ‘saved’ folder on instagram called “joy” where I save posts that I find joyful. It’s a wonderful way of not only noting joy during time I spend scrolling, but it’s so wonderfully joyful to go back and look at the posts as a group, from time to time.
I love your definitions of both Brooke! ‘Happiness as a training ground for joy’ is a particularly delightful take! (Where does delight sit in relation to these other two I wonder?)
Hi Brooke. In your quest for defining joy, have you come across I grid Fetell Lee, who wrote a book about it, did a TED talk and has an amazing website - The Aesthetics of Joy! If not, I highly recommend. 👀🎈
I enjoyed this post SO MUCH Brooke!! It was a pleasure to read and I like the way it made me consider the terms. I have to say that "So, colour me bemused." made me laugh out loud in a public space 😆
Best best best of luck with your surgery. I look forward to hearing that it went super well 🥰
This is so timely, Brooke - I am having to do some hard reflecting on big life changes and making permanent space for joy moving forward around those changes has been very much on my mind (your concept of tilting rather than worklife 'balance' has been so helpful in this respect!). Happiness to me is a quieter, calmer feeling, overlapping strongly with contentment - a good cup of tea in the sunshine, a catch up with a friend. Joy is a bit brighter, and often more spontaneous, maybe - a delighted chortle or full on snortlaugh at a piece of silliness sent by a friend; riding my bike home at midnight on empty back streets; like you, I enjoy belting out a song while driving too. Thankyou for sharing :)
Such a thought provoking post, Brooke! 😀 It reminded me of Brene Brown's book Atlas of the Heart where she defines joy as "an intense feeling of deep spiritual connection, pleasure and appreciation". She states that happiness is "feeling pleasure often related to the immediate environment of current circumstances". I think you hit the nail on the head for me when you say it is "deeply rooted in gratitude and connection". Perhaps so deeply rooted and internal that it is hard to define in a tangible way.
I hope it is ok to also share this poem from Donna Ashworth which 'coincidently' arrived in my inbox 5 hours before your post!
JOY CHOSE YOU
Joy does not arrive with a fanfare
on a red carpet strewn
with the flowers of a perfect life
joy sneaks in
as you pour a cup of coffee
watching the sunlight
hit your favourite tree, just right
and you usher joy away
because you are not ready for her
your house is not as it should be
for such a distinguished guest
but joy cares nothing for your messy home
or your bank-balance, or your waistline, you see
joy is supposed to slither through
the cracks of your imperfect life
that's how joy works
you cannot truly invite her
you can only be ready when she appears
and hug her with meaning
because in this very moment
joy chose you
I have shifted away from "happy". For some reason it feels small and fleeting. "Joy" feels expansive and limitless. It feels deep and wise. Maybe it has something to do with my age, now that I am on the other side of 50. I want a richer, more meaninful life that is made up of little moments of joy.
I am excited to explore this with you and the group.
I feel a difference between joy and happiness. My take: Happiness is a state of wellbeing, and probably includes some feelings of contentment. Joy is something else - and yes, it may be present during times of hardship. I felt joy when walking through a fresh snowfall in the woods with a friend. Fluffy snow covered the pine branches and blanketed the banks of the streams- magical scenes all around us. We were the first humans to lay tracks on the trail that day. At one point, we stepped off the path and laid down in the snow on our backs. Being still and looking up through the snow-covered branches of the trees towards the morning sky, we felt…JOY!
Not super sure but I feel like Joy involves a cool breeze
I think I heard the difference for the first time in your podcast with Beth Kempton. I never thought about it before so it had a profound impact on me. (It could be one of your other podcasts though).
For me happiness is more a longer state of contentment, gratitude and living your values. Joy is more of a fleating experience. Brene Brown explains the image as an chain of flickering lights. The lights are joy and happiness is the cord.
I personally define happiness as a feeling more on the surface. In the middle of grief, for example, it is possible to have moments of happiness if someone makes you laugh, but grief is behind the happiness. Joy is a deeper feeling, a feeling rooted in gratitude.
But when I use google translate to translate the two, joy and happiness, into my first language, I'm not so sure anymore, haha! Emotions and feelings can be both tricky and fascinating at the same time.
Thank you for providing the audioversion of these letters, I truly enjoy them. Sometimes I read along with you, and sometimes I just sit back and listen. Other times I prefer to read myself. It's good to have the choice, so thank you.
Oh, and if you don't mind me asking, what's your new novel about? :)
Loved this post Brooke, plus everyone's comments. In Vedic philosophy they use the sanskrit term Sat-Chit-Ananda, which translates to truth-consciousness-bliss, and is the experience of unity or pure existence. Sometimes glimpsed or felt during meditation or when noticing moments of joy, peace or connection : )
Oh I love all these comments 🥰 joy to me is often fleeting but can last and last in our memories. Gratitude, contentment, family, friends and nature are often my joy filled moments.
I feel like happiness is a more general feeling of wellbeing whereas joy is a more intense moment or experience - like those you mentioned - and that joy does indeed 'leave a trail of luminescence in it's wake' - so beautifully expressed! I think we can easily identify those moments of joy in our lives - even when they are fleeting.
I think joy might be the noticing of happiness. The noticing of contentment, awe and connection. The feeling of warmth. And I so love what you say about it leaving a trail, staying around for a while after. I definitely see that 🤍
Brooke, I teared-up when you recounted that your daughter put her head on your shoulder during that pivotal scene in ‘Barbie’. 🥹 Joy indeed.
I frequently find joy and happiness with my dog, Wilbur. Just this morning, I thought how happy I feel when he comes to sit next to me on the couch. (He has several dog beds, and the human bed, as well as the couch; hence it makes me happy when he chooses to sit right next to me.) Plus, I felt absolute joy when I was lying next to him on the bed, patting him, and watching him snooze.
Towards the end of last year I made a ‘saved’ folder on instagram called “joy” where I save posts that I find joyful. It’s a wonderful way of not only noting joy during time I spend scrolling, but it’s so wonderfully joyful to go back and look at the posts as a group, from time to time.
I love your definitions of both Brooke! ‘Happiness as a training ground for joy’ is a particularly delightful take! (Where does delight sit in relation to these other two I wonder?)
Hi Brooke. In your quest for defining joy, have you come across I grid Fetell Lee, who wrote a book about it, did a TED talk and has an amazing website - The Aesthetics of Joy! If not, I highly recommend. 👀🎈
Your descriptions of joy brought me joy too. I could "see" and "feel" them. Thanks so much for sharing!
I enjoyed this post SO MUCH Brooke!! It was a pleasure to read and I like the way it made me consider the terms. I have to say that "So, colour me bemused." made me laugh out loud in a public space 😆
Best best best of luck with your surgery. I look forward to hearing that it went super well 🥰
This is so timely, Brooke - I am having to do some hard reflecting on big life changes and making permanent space for joy moving forward around those changes has been very much on my mind (your concept of tilting rather than worklife 'balance' has been so helpful in this respect!). Happiness to me is a quieter, calmer feeling, overlapping strongly with contentment - a good cup of tea in the sunshine, a catch up with a friend. Joy is a bit brighter, and often more spontaneous, maybe - a delighted chortle or full on snortlaugh at a piece of silliness sent by a friend; riding my bike home at midnight on empty back streets; like you, I enjoy belting out a song while driving too. Thankyou for sharing :)