Well, I just read something that makes perfect sense. As I've written, I've decided to be happy pretty much all the time. Okay, I'm not always just grinning and thrilled with stuff, I mean, I still bang my elbows and curse or get cranky when I have a toothache or get irritated with foreign corporations who wrongfully accuse me of things I didn't do, BUT... I really am generally happy. All I have to do is just relax and let it come, and there it is.

But the thing I just read is about joy and happiness. The thing is, happiness is fleeting. It's just a human emotion. Whee, this makes me happy! (Whatever "it" happens to be.) But it's usually in response to external things.

Joy, on the other hand, is from the inside. It pours out of your core, from your heart. You can have joy in your heart even when you're externally quite pissed off (believe it or not). The surface "pissed off" will take your attention for a while, yes, but then when you let that go, the joy is right there, because the joy is what's real.

Well, it makes perfect sense to me. It's also worth noting that joy is, after all, listed as one of the "fruits of the spirit", along with love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (That's from Galatians 5:19-23 in case you want to look it up for yourself.)

Note that this is not a Bible lesson. It's just that I realised when I read about the difference between joy and happiness that joy is one of those Spirit things. And you know what? I've got the a gospel song just stuck in my head now.

I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in my heart (Where?)
Down in my heart (Where?)
Down in my heart
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in my heart (Where?)
Down in my heart to stay