Ok so who remembers Ren & Stimpy? I was in high school and many of my, ahem, friends watched this show. I never did get it. I guess it was our SpongeBob, but the teenagers took to it as if it were made for them instead of the eight-year-old boys it was probably intended for.
Ren & Stimpy had this one song, “Happy, Happy, Joy Joy” that was so catchy you’d have to be under a rock not to have heard it in some way. What were they were so darn giddy about anyway?
So why am I talking about Ren & Stimpy? Because it’s been (holy crap) 17+ a lot of years since I first heard that song and I still hum it every time I hear my favorite word: JOY.
Webster’s Dictionary defines JOY as:
JOY- noun.– The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition of expectation of good; pleasurable feeling or emotions caused by success, good fortune, and the like, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire; gladness; exhilaration of spirits; delight.
Joy is a delight of the mind.
Her heavenly form beheld, all wished her joy. – Dryden
Glides the smooth current of domestic joy. – Johnson
Tears of true joy for his return. – Heb. xii. 2.
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy might be full–John 15:11
Most important, JOY is a noun. It’s an actual thing. Not a description of a thing, but a real thing.
Webster’s Dictionary defines HAPPY as:
Hap.py adj.1: favored by luck or fortune 2: notably fitting, effective, or well adapted 3a : enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment b : expressing, reflecting, or suggestive of happiness c : having or marked by an atmosphere of good fellowship.
She was a very happy child.
You don’t look happy. What’s the problem?
We’re all one big, happy family here.
I’d do anything to make her happy.
How happy are those who know what sorrow means for they will be given courage and comfort!–Matthew 5:4
Happy is great too, don’t get me wrong. Who doesn’t like being happy? But as you can clearly see, it’s just an adjective. As in, it’s just a description of something else. “The part of speech that modifies a noun” (and yes I had to look up the actual definition of adjective). No actual “thing” on its own. It’s totally and completely dependent on something else. Another “word” in this case, but I’m sure for many of us, we can all fill in our blank for “word”. Person, thing, activity, get my drift?
If you want to be happy you first need to find some thing to attach happy to. So by definition, you can’t just be “happy”. You have to be happy about something—because that word will always be dependent on a noun. Sounds like a lot of work.
Now, JOY on the other hand…”the passion or emotion excited by the acquisition of expectation of good…” That’s my kind of word. Short. Simple. Clear. Easy to implement. Joy stands on its own. Joy is a motivator, an accomplishment, an assistant and a reward all wrapped up in three little letters. Joy is an actual thing. ALL BY ITSELF. You can have it, you can share it and you can multiply it. You can even exude it. You don’t need to attach it to something else. It just is. Joy is the decision you make when you want more than just happy. Joy is the thing you might be searching for when happy just isn’t doing it.
I choose Joy. On days that it’s hard and on days that I already feel happy, I choose Joy. Because that’s what we ALL deserve. It’s what we are all capable of not only feeling, but embracing with all of the passion and emotion those little letters were meant to represent. If Ren & Stimpy can have it, so can we.
I especially enJOY when I see JOY here…
and here…
Have a wonderful weekend!
XOXO,
Angie
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