Keeping our hearts healthy, we all need to have joy in our lives

Published 3:05 pm Monday, November 16, 2009

By Mary Andrews

When our children were in Sunday school or went to camp they often learned the “Joy” song. Do you remember it? The words were:

I’ve got that joy, joy, joy, joy deep in my heart, deep in my heart, deep in my heart.

I’ve got that joy, joy, joy, joy deep in my heart, deep in my heart today.

The song continued on to sing of joy in my knees, feet, arms, hands, head and ended with joy “all over me”. To be healthy and keep our hearts healthy we all need to have joy in our lives.

We all can get terribly bogged down with worries – financial, medical, the world situation, family members’ problems etc. If we become overwhelmed with continual worries, we can make ourselves sick. We also can get so consumed by all the things we “have to do” that the days spin by without our noting even a single joyful moment, especially the tiny ones.

We know that sometimes our lives change in ways that make us sad. No one ever plans to be widowed, no one ever plans to have a life changing illness, but these do happen sometimes. We do need to spend some time grieving the losses from our lives. In time, though we must learn to bless what we have and not focus totally on what we have lost. We must learn again to notice joyful moments in order to help heal our souls. How can we do this?

The first thing to do is to make a list of things or people who give us joy, or make us feel happy, and design a plan to make them part of our lives. Whether it is as simple as a warm piece of cinnamon toast on a cold morning or the way someone’s eyes light up when we come into a room we need more of them in our lives.

If someone’s eyes light up when they see you, that is someone with whom you should try to spend time. Meet them at the senior center for lunch or at a restaurant, meet them at the Chalet for a movie, meet them to take a walk at a park or on our walking trail. You get the idea.

Did you used to enjoy having a dog or a cat, but do not want to have all the work of training a new pet: Did you know that there are animal rescue organizations that can provide you with an older trained animal? A pet can give you joy and companionship.

Did you used to enjoy reading? Why did you stop? Get your eyes checked to see if you can get better glasses if you have a vision problem. Join a book club or start one and read a mix of new authors and old favorites. If reading is too hard on your eyes, check our books on tape from the library and enjoy the author reading his/her story to you.

My husband and I laughed all the way to eastern Oregon listening to the antics of a dog named Marley and his family. (This book was the source of the movie Marley and Me) Good stories can give you joy.

Over the years my mother became more and more homebound. She taped post cards of places she had been, pictures of favorite paintings and notes from family and friends to her kitchen cabinet doors. Every time she walked into her kitchen they made her smile. What would make you smile?

Did you used to go to church? You can start going again, meeting old friends and making new ones. If you no longer drive, call the church to see if someone can give you a ride. Several people in our church do this. I bet they would love to see you again. If you never attended a church, start now. They all have events planned for everyone to enjoy.

Why not write down stories of things you did or adventures you had when you were growing up. You may think they are not worth telling, but you are mistaken. Families and friends tend to think of us the way we are and forget some of us lived through the Depression, fought in wars, lost jobs and had to start all over again, missed opportunities that would have made big changes in our lives.

Grandchildren cannot believe we had no TV’s but made our own fun, that we could not believe we would fly in planes and that we made some of the same mistakes in our lives they have made. They forget we are human too.

Years ago we learned that my husband’s father left school at a very young age. He traveled around the country in freight cars, stopping to work now and then, and finally joined the Merchant Marines while he was in New York and sailed to the Orient where he worked on ships for years. His grandkids loved this story because some of them only knew him as an older man who was always very quiet.

My point is that we need to deliberately do things to bring joy and happiness into our lives. We need to remember people and events that gave us joy in the past and celebrate them. We need to be with people who bring us joy – neighbors, old and new friends, grand and great-grandchildren, our family etc.

We need to share our joy with others, too, to brighten their lives – spread it around. We need to plan future events for ourselves, look forward to them, enjoy them and then remember them – savor the joy!

Joy can be found in a crowd or when you are alone. When rubbing your hands with lotion take a moment to think of some of the wonderful things you have made or done with your hands – a toy car, chocolate chip cookies, a dress, a wagon, a fishing pole etc. When rubbing your feet remember some of the places your feet have taken you that you enjoyed – the beach, a lake, a mountain trail, a trip etc.

On a cold, cloudless night, bundle up and go out to look up at the stars. Remember other starry nights. Remember when you perhaps sat outside on a warm night last summer and felt the evening cool off. Feels good, doesn’t it.

If you plant a seed of joy, gently grow joy, than you can have a richer, far richer life than you have now – a joyful life.

Seniors take a step and build more joy into your lives. You will love the changes this brings!