How to Find Joy in the Moment

Are you where you thought you’d be at this moment in your life?

Are your health, relationships, and job perfect?

Are your finances in order?

Few of us have achieved victory in every area.  Someone who is blessed with good health may struggle with relationships. An individual who has enough money to live comfortably may have health challenges. We all deal with setbacks of some kind.

The last article I posted here was about finding joy despite tough circumstances. I also recently published articles on de-stressing here and how struggles help us grow here. The common theme is that it’s easy to get caught up in the natural difficulties of life.

The Road to Contentment

If we can always expect challenges, how is it possible to find joy? It is found by living in the present. Each person must seek contentment in the moments of light they’re offered:

• A baby’s smile
• A funny video or movie
• An interesting article

There’s a well-known quote attributed to various authors. Each author only changes the words a little bit. I don’t know who the original author is:

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift from God. That’s why we call it the present.”

Depression--Worry About the Past

I’m sure there are very few people who are completely satisfied with their past.  Many of us would like to travel back in time in order to save a job or an important relationship. We would make different choices this time. Unfortunately, individuals don’t always have a chance to go back and change the past. This can lead to depression.

Me

I have plenty of things I would like to change about my past. There were a lot of negative influences and situations. The more I think about them, the darker my mind becomes. If I don’t “let it go”, like the famous Disney song suggests, the darkness gets deeper and deeper.

Anxiety—Worry About the Future

As the quote above says, “Tomorrow is a mystery.” It’s a good idea to prepare for whatever may come, but nobody can predict exactly what is going to happen. If we anticipate problems and try to solve them in our minds before they occur, we will probably become anxious.

Mary

She’s a dear friend whose husband recently lost his job. He had a well-paying upper-management job in the same company that had employed him for at least two decades. In the same way as many corporations, this organization had to lay off some employees. It’s a tough economy right now.

This couple looks on the bright side, though. They aren’t worrying about tomorrow. They are enjoying the unexpected hours they have to do home-improvement projects together. 

My Conclusion

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”—Isaiah 43:18-19

How are you living in the present?