A few months ago I started collecting joy quotes in preparation for our yearly RhythmAsana weekend retreat and have been inspired and delighted to find so many that shiver my soul and align my intention. Click here for 15 more perspectives on joy from mystics, scientists, philosophers, business moguls and entertainers.
1. “To know yourself as the Being underneath the thinker, the stillness underneath the mental noise, the love and joy underneath the pain, is freedom, salvation, enlightenment.” ~ Eckhart Tolle
2. ”Think joy, talk joy, practice joy, share joy, saturate your mind with joy, and you will have the time of your life today and every day all your life."
~ Norman Vincent Peale
3. “Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.” ~ Albert Einstein
4. “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” ~ Buddha
5. “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” ~ William Arthur Ward
6. “Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us. Let's not be afraid to receive each day's surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy it will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity.” ~ Henri Nouwen
7. “If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.” ~ Eleonora Duse
8. “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” ~ Leo Buscaglia
9. “If you are a chef, no matter how good a chef you are, it's not good cooking for yourself; the joy is in cooking for others - it's the same with music.” ~ will.i.am
10. “Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
11. “We will be more successful in all our endeavors if we can let go of the habit of running all the time, and take little pauses to relax and re-center ourselves. And we'll also have a lot more joy in living.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
12. “I have drunken deep of joy, and I will taste no other wine tonight.” ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley
13. “True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
14. “When I wake up every morning, I smile and say, 'Thank you' Because out of my window I can see the mountains, then go hiking with my dog and share her bounding joy in the world.” ~ Carole King
15. “Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.”
~ Joseph Campbell