I was puzzled when joyfulness appeared as my virtue for today. I even looked at the screen quizzically, thinking what does it mean? What I have learned most recently in conversing with others and enabling them to delve a little deeper when a virtue first appears, is that sometimes the hidden, inner significance behind its appearance is not readily apparent. As I went about doing other activities, keeping in my mind that my focus and practice today is joyfulness, the revelation of its significance dawned. I had set myself the task of completing my proposal to share with prospective clients. I have had a lot of anxiety and stress around it, sensitive to suggestions of my husband, wanting to maintain my integrity and infuse it with my own voice not the haughty, distant and formal parlance traditionally cultivated in business transactions. To do this I needed to choose joy in my approach to writing the proposal. To access that reservoir deep within me that tells me that everything will be ok. I have been so concerned about giving people what they want, attracting clients to get this venture started. All of the research that I have done around proposal writing is about grabbing people's attention, getting more clients, drawing them in with clever language, graphics and marketing. It comes from a place of scarcity, needing to have the clients in order to demonstrate the value of ones product or service, to be relevant. What if I turned this on its head? What if I were to approach the situation from the position of wealth - a deep abiding sense of certainty that who I am and what I have to offer is valuable, and simply share this joy that I have found for myself in picking a virtue each day and meditating upon it. This is what joyfulness teaches me today - being optimistic and hopeful that I do not need to cloak my business in a glitzy and expensive facade to attract clients, a simple approach will attract those who wish to avail themselves of what it is that I have to offer.
Joyfulness is not a trait usually considered in religion. It is not surprising that we look at it with confusion at first. That we are encouraged to be happy, to enjoy the gifts of our lives and those in it, is a new idea. Sometimes I think we feel guilt about our joy. We need to learn that that is not God's wish for us.