Happiness is what happens to you. I eat a piece of chocolate cake - I’m happy. I get a bonus at work - I’m happy. Happiness is fleeting. It’s the opposite of sadness, and life has its ebbs and flows. So there will be moments of happiness, and moments of sadness. That’s how life works.
But JOY?
Joy is innate.
Joy is internal.
Joy is something you access from within. And the more you learn to access it, the easier it is to feel and pull from, no matter the circumstance.
So, what is JOY?
You know it when you feel it. But joy is also the ability to see the silver lining or the light in an impossible situation. It’s the ability to see possibility, no matter what’s going on. It’s being able to walk on through anyway.
And the thing about joy I absolutely love is that once you figure out you have access to it on a regular basis, it’s a game changer.
I woke up this morning and learned that the morale of ICE “agents” is extremely low.
“Some ICE employees believe that the shift in priorities is driven by a political preoccupation with deportation numbers rather than keeping communities safe. At ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division, which has long focused on cartels and major drug-trafficking operations, supervisors have waved agents off new cases so they have more time to make immigration-enforcement arrests, a veteran agent told me.
‘No drug cases, no human trafficking, no child exploitation,’ the agent said. ‘It’s infuriating.’
The longtime ICE employee is thinking about quitting rather than having to continue ‘arresting gardeners.’”
— The Atlantic
Knowing that officers - uhem, ICE “agents” - are having second thoughts… well, that’s something I’m holding onto. Even if it’s just a sliver of hope, of possibility, it’s helping me keep faith in the American people. In our humanity…
And that, my friends - that is a little piece of joy I needed today to keep moving through.
Have a good day. And I’ll see you again next time.
— Carmen
