Joy gives us wings! In times of joy our strength is more vital, our intellect keener, and our understanding less clouded. We seem better able to cope with the world and to find our sphere of usefulness. But when sadness visits us we become weak, our strength leaves us, our comprehension is dim and our intelligence veiled. The actualities of life seem to elude our grasp, the eyes of our spirits fail to discover the sacred mysteries, and we become even as dead beings. ~’Abdu’l-Bahá 

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A sense of joy and happiness gives us great power and strength. I believe we can all attest to this from personal experience. When we are happy, everything seems easier, brighter, and more possible. The opposite is also clearly true—when sad and depressed we feel hopeless and unable to move forward. 

With this in mind, we clearly need to make happiness more of a priority in our lives. But how do we do this? What about when life gets hard and challenges us, which it inevitably does? How do we rise above those difficult circumstances and still find the joy to fuel our days, push us towards our goals, and fill us with love?

Here are some of my thoughts on harnessing the power of joy (in no particular order of importance):

1. Walk into every day with a sense of gratitude. What does this mean? Start everyday reflecting on what you have to be grateful for, meditate on it, or write it down, journal about it, however you want to go about it that works for you, but just make it a really conscious, intentional part of your day.

When in the process of reflecting on what I am grateful for, I try not to limit myself only to the big things—my family and good friends, my faith, my cozy home, the food on our table, good health, etc. (although I am definitely grateful for all of those), but I also try to reflect on what has happened in the last 24 hours that I am grateful for. Finding the good in all the little everyday things, helps  me to appreciate how much is actually good around me, and balances out all the negative stuff I am bombarded with through the media. 

What brought you joy and filled you up in the last 24 hours, what are the little things that sustained you through this past day? A genuinely warm smile from a passing stranger? A person that helped you through the doorway when your hands were too full to open it yourself? A grocery store teller that was genuinely interested in how your day was going? A beautiful sunset on your drive home? A cup of coffee while watching the sunrise? A sweet hug from your child? Being able to offer a helping hand to another person and see their smile of gratitude? Your favorite song on the radio just when you needed a pick me up? Having a meaningful, rich conversation with a friend? All the little (and big) things that weave across your day, making it brighter and bringing a greater sense of connection with others.

Carry this connection and gratitude with you, and let it inform your day and how you interact with others. This will not only affect you, but those you interact with, making everyone’s day better. Before you know it you will be seeing so many things that bring you joy and gratitude, you just need to pay attention and make it more of your focus, than the things that go awry. 

2. Prayer and meditation—that invaluable connection to the Divine that will reinvigorate your heart and soul, calm your mind, kindle inspiration, and keep your heart centered on the good. I start and end everyday with this connection, but also rely on little prayers throughout the day in those moments of challenge or gratitude.

3. Love—if you walk through your day offering kindness, warmth, and a smile to those around you, that is exactly what you will start getting back from others. If you really make a conscious effort to offer love to others, you will find the world shift around you into one that is offering you that very same love and support that you are putting out there, making it even easier to be a happier person!

4. Service—in serving others we find true happiness, you can find hundreds of stories that support this fact. It is in those moments when we are helping others, giving our time, money, and effort that we feel the most happy. And not just short term happiness, it is those moments of service that will continue to give meaning to our lives, the moments we are often most proud of when reflecting on our lives. It is in those moments that we see our greatest impact in this world and that give our lives real purpose.

What are the things that give you the most happiness in your lives in a long and lasting way?