Brene Brown once said, “If you asked me what’s the most terrifying difficult emotion we experience as humans, I would say joy.”

What? Joy? Terrifying? Difficult? How can this be?

Maybe you have said, “Everything’s going so great in my life right now; how long can it last? I feel like something bad is gonna happen, because it just can’t stay this good for but so long. When’s the other shoe going to drop?”

Or perhaps you know someone who has said, “You know, I don’t get too excited about or joyful about anything–a new job, a new relationship, an amazing event–because that way if things don’t work out, it’s no big deal.” 

We’re sometimes afraid to let our guard down. So we stop making ourselves so vulnerable. But, says Brown, “When we lose our capacity for vulnerability, joy becomes foreboding.”

Foreboding joy.

But in this episode, we’ll  talk about some very specific things we can do to allow ourselves to be vulnerable enough–and courageous enough–to embrace soul-filling joy. 

NOTES:

Brown, Brene. Daring Greatly. Avery, 2015.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…” (James 1:17, NIV)

“How to Practice Gratitude.” Mindful: Healthy Mind, Healthy Life. 

https://www.mindful.org/an-introduction-to-mindful-gratitude/

Rast, Brother David Steindl: “It’s not joy that makes us grateful; it’s gratitude that makes us joyful.”