Joy

Joy is not to be confused with happiness.
One is short-lived; the other is more lasting.
One is an emotion brought about by events, people, thoughts, experiences; the other is an inner state of heart and mind mostly caused by one's own attitude and optimism, humility. One is created, the other is discovered.
Both can exist independently; there can be happiness but not joy, and joy even in miserable situations. [2Cor8:2 'Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.']

I reflect upon this as part of self-reflection on: 1. My attitude towards others. Close friends, people I see weekly, new people, and passers-by. 2. My attitude towards life (my own life). Situations, day-to-day happenings, studies, errands, commitments. 3. My optimism to the more unseen: the future.

1. I am aware of my silent (but not shy) nature towards others, of being self-contained and secretive of my thoughts, and of how I do not radiate energy and cheer. I am difficult to make conversation with, and I do not actively create conversation even when I am in a social situation. During an introduction, mingling with people, at snack refreshments, at meals.
2. I mechanically go about day to day, with little desire to inject fun and enjoyment but rather just completing each day's work (particularly studying), with little sense of adventure or humour.
3. The future: I have little plans for a holiday (though it would be nice), and just a vague direction as to career outcomes. This is not necessariy a bad thing; I do commit my future into God's hands and therefore do not form concrete plans; rather I prepare myself for certain fields and equip myself with skills and knowledge. The bad thing about this is that failure to plan my time means failure to cast my nets; I could achieve more by exploring the ocean ahead of the boat rather than keeping the boat moving with my head down. Building on this analogy; it is good for me to leave it to God to set my bearing, but I should also keep an active look-out the horizon my bow is pointing at; then can I see the shore God wants me to land on. A sailor that follows the wind moves in circles no matter how fast he sails; but if he trims his sails to maintain his course, he arrives at his destination and discovers a new land no matter how long it takes him.

Speaking so far, I have come to understand the importance of joyful living. Cost-benefit analysis beginning with cost of being joyful. A person who indulges too much in enjoyment is foolish; he expends time and energy quickly and achieves less. Ecclesiastes 2:2 "Laughter," I said, is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish? 3I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly - my mind still guiding me with wisdom..." Further at v10 "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 11Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun."
However, being joyful does not require this; it requires one to carefully but postively engage in meaningful experiences that are worthwhile. Benefit: Self-discovery, release, learning, enrichment... Joy.

1. Joy naturally causes one to radiate positivity and confidence; it is attractive and contagious, charming. It triggers the chain reaction of sociability. Joy gives others assurance in you, that when you undergo anything it is done with joy therefore you are positive about it; your heart is in it. Joy builds rapport; giving and receiving of the intangible social gifts.
2. Joy in daily living unleashes a positive energy and a lightheartedness. It opens one up to enjoy what one is doing and there is a propensity to put more effort into it, usually achieveing about a better outcome in the process.
3. A joyful person is positive about the future. Optimism is important in one's striving.

Ecc2:24 "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind."

Today was a long day of classes. I had in fact two coffees in the morning; one at home and another before lecture. That kept me awake despite the average of 5 hours of sleep the past several nights. The lecture was mosly a summary of readings; all it did for me was remind me how little I remembered after spending close to 10 hours of reading time on 6 articles. Lunch with Michelle at IH was a conversation on scuba diving snorkelling and a 5 minute crash course on operating my camera. Torts tutorial was my most dispassionate point of the day; I felt that little learning value existed in that 50 minutes. There was an argumentative girl at my table who shared most of the air time with the tutor (whom herself showed up in green from eyeshadow to dress to heels: Shrek's Fiona) and a girl beside her. Their assertions were terrible out of the scope of the tutorial: unrelated cases, less preferred precedent, explorations into irrelevance. It sapped the precious tutorial time that could have been spent more constructively.

Dinner was Si Yi's creation of apricot chicken. A very sweet, rich marinade for chicken thighs; baked to tenderness. Unfortunately I had to avoid eating too much; I was tired enough as it was.

 The night was perhaps the most stirring time I've experienced in a long time. The Joseph musical, produced by Harvest Rain. The star of the show (my very unqualified opinion) was, however not Joseph but the narrator, a very fantastic job done by Angela Cornford. She has a very powerful, very skilled and very warm-comforting voice. I was most impressed with Prologue and one of the later songs. Special notice also to the Pharoah, a spoof of Elvis but with no less prowess. Guest-starred by Michael Falzon, a star from We Will Rock You. Any Dream Will Do may just be the next song on loop. Highly impressed with the whole musical. Special thanks to Si Yi (if I ever let you discover this) for taking me to the 2nd musical I've ever watched in my life. It does wonders for my mood. Let's see if I catch Les Miserables too.

Next post: Zoe; the sword of Damacles