Experiencing Joy Again

Two years ago, our family lost our first dog.  Sprint was a rat terrier and old age took its toll on him.  Eventually, he reached the pointed of terrible suffering and we made the most difficult decision of saying goodbye.  While Sprint made life difficult at times, he loved us and was under foot everywhere we went.  Our family mourned and decided to wait before getting another dog.  After two years, we finally brought Onyx, a German Shorthaired Pointer, into our family.  She is now almost six months old, full of mischief, and still growing fast.

Onyx has helped remind me of what it is like to truly experience joy again.  She lives in the moment without a worry about anything else.  Watching her run around and play with joy and excitement in the simplest of things is truly a pleasure to watch.  I am forced to reflect on how I let so many things weigh me down and watching her helps me to reflect on how I need to do better at enjoying the happy moments in my life.  

There are so many moments in all of our lives we fail to fully enjoy because of worries, burdens, pains, and even past trauma.  However, true joy is being able to disassociate from those pains and live entirely in that happy moment.  And perhaps the irony of it is that without the pains and burdens, we wouldn't really be able to recognize just how joyful some of those moments can be.  

As we move into the Christmas season, there are many reasons to find joy in our lives.  For some joy means spending time with family and friends.  For others joy is found in the spirit of the season and helping others who are less fortunate.  For many, joy is found in celebrating their faith.  Still many others struggle to find joy during this season as I have in the past.  Stresses, hurts, loss, lack of resources, and many other things sap the spirit and make it hard to truly be able to allow oneself to experience joy.  

Life is always full of its ups and downs, joys and tragedies, hard moments and happy times, and life has a way of bringing you down over and over again until you struggle to truly enjoy anything.  However, the great thing about the journey is the surprising moments which bring a smile to your face and remind you life doesn't always have to be a grind.  These moments are to be treasured above all else.  Maybe you don't have a dog like Onyx to remind you of joy, but everyone can find something in life to allow themselves to experience a little bit of pleasure and happiness.