Growing Through Grief: Where Did Joy Go?
By Angela Clement
Life can be a tricky space sometimes. A loss knocks us off balance and can put us in a place where safety and trust don’t come easily. On top of that, the world seems to be changing fast and spinning without any regard to our pain. It may seem like people are getting more and more disconnected from each other and from what is most meaningful in life. Please know, I felt this way too. You are not alone. Many of us in grief feel this way.
You might be asking yourself, where did the joy go? Will I ever have joy again? What even is joy for me now? We look back at all the times we felt joyful and we realize they all included our person. Now they are gone. It seems hopeless. On top of that, the world seems to be so cruel and mean. People are hurting each other and it is hard to see anything good. What we hear and see on social media and television confirms our thoughts. Yet the thing is, joy is still there. We just can’t see it. Our antenna is pointed in the wrong direction.
Joy does not need the outer world to behave. Believe it or not your greatest joy can actually come from the deepest of sorrows. How? When we are in sorrow for some time we start to get curious about where joy is. We begin to search. Eventually, we will discover that joy is an energy. It is an energy all around us which we can find if we choose to focus upon it. We have to choose joy. Sometimes we don’t want to and that is okay. Allow sorrow to be your friend instead. But when you are ready, this is how you choose joy. Give freely of your heart. Find little ways to be kind and compassionate to yourself and others. When you start to do that purposely, with your whole heart, you will see the universe will begin to reflect more kindness back at you. Give it time and have patience. You will start to see joy in little things. You will find it in nature. You will hear it in a song. You will feel it in your heart again. Once that starts to happen you might be wondering what is next? Why am I here and what am I supposed to be doing now that my loved one is gone?
Sometimes the task at hand calls for you to become a blank page. See if you can just live as simply as possible every day doing things that bring you peace. Allow the days to unfold as you do little things to bring yourself comfort. Open your mind. Try not to change or influence what you see around you or how you feel. Just be. It is a perfect time for intimate exchanges and profound connections with your higher power. Sprinkle kindness around you where you can and stay open to possibilities. Allow spirit to help you write your story. Watch for synchronicities and signs that you are on the right path. They will come.
The vision you see will likely surprise you. You will wonder how it all happened and you will tell the story of how the perfect answer suddenly came to you. You will rejoice in the joy that you feel. You will be in awe of the power you have within you. You will know that no matter what happens, you will be okay. You and spirit are meant to be co-creating this life together and it is a beautiful thing. You just need to ask and be open to the answer coming in unexpected ways. Sending lots of love, Angela. www.healingenergy.world