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In a previous article, I wrote about happiness. People wondered why I am so often happy.
However, happiness is only temporary. It often involves something you have achieved, received, or bought. For example, I am happy with my new sports watch, my offer that was accepted by the customer, or my new Hoka running shoes. I was very happy when I received them, but my feelings of happiness and joy are less now. My watch has scratches, and my running shoes are dirty.
In his book The Second Mountain, David Brooks describes the five levels of joy. In this article, I share Brooks’ thoughts on joy and how they manifest in my life.
Joy
Brooks explains in the introduction that happiness is personal. We often ask people if they are happy. Joy goes beyond ourselves. It is what happens to you and is not expected. Happiness fades. Joy is sustainable. I can also experience joy with my family, even when something is not going well (for example, when I find out the breakfast table has not been cleaned up again).
Brooks collects stories and experiences about joy. Based on this, he has found five levels of joy: physical joy, collective joy, emotional joy, and moral joy.
Physical joy
Sometimes I experience joy when I am busy with something. Then I get into flow because I keep repeating certain actions (rhythmically). This can be when washing the car, running, or painting the shed. Time flies by, and I experience satisfaction and happiness. Does this sound familiar to you?
Collective joy
Brooks calls this collective effervescence or celebratory dance of joy in which happy moments are celebrated. Earlier this morning, I saw a video of a crowd dancing with joy because their football club had been promoted to a higher division. That is the collective effervescence you see during pop concerts or weddings. I like dancing, especially with people I love. At first, I experience physical joy because we dance together to the same rhythm. Still, it quickly becomes a collective joy because the people around me also experience joy on a higher level. Of course, I also see it in the Haka, a power dance from New Zealand. I often dance it and see people radiating joy when they can and dare to experience the dance.
Brooks describes collective joy as the cage of self-consciousness falling away from people. People become completely absorbed in the moment because the joy always occurs in the present.
Emotional joy
When you fall in love with someone, you experience emotional joy. It is when you lose yourself in each other, and it can also happen with couples who have been together for a long time. It is an intimate and powerful form of joy. I experience it when I see one of our cats sleeping on the grass in the sun again, and when they come to lie on my lap while I eat, read, or watch TV. Here too, time stands still, and I experience love. This emotional joy then often turns into spiritual joy.
Spiritual joy
This joy comes over you when you walk in nature or see a work of art. There is something mystical about it, something intangible, but it fills you immediately. When I saw the photo of Wouter Le Duc’s God machine, I suddenly realized I have infinite power. I looked at it for almost half an hour when I first saw it. At that moment, I decided to buy it. It gives me a lot of self-confidence.
I also experience spiritual joy when I have an insight. That often happens unexpectedly and can happen during a dream, contemplation, or just during the day. It can be a billboard with a message, especially for me, a meeting, or any event with a special meaning. Brooks talks about transcendent joy, when you feel at one with nature, the universe, or God. I call it the hand of God, a waking dream, or golden wisdom.
When I was a student, I played in a band. One of the members of the band committed suicide. It was a very sad moment, and we were in shock. On the day of the funeral, we were allowed to play in the church where the coffin was. No one else was in the church. As we played an upbeat song, the sun suddenly shone through the glass-stained window onto the coffin. We all felt a spiritual joy, as if our former band member had told us all was well.
Moral joy
The last level of joy is moral joy. I prefer to call this the joy of service. It is the joy you experience by being of service to others or life. It can be done in many ways. For example, you can be a volunteer or selflessly serve others. It is about giving of yourself without expecting anything in return. You can hold the door open for someone or let someone go first because they are in a hurry. The best thing is to do something that no one can find out about. Then there are the random acts of kindness, such as a Caffè sospeso, where you anonymously pay for a cup of coffee, or the deep kindness Houston Kraft writes about.
I then feel an ultimate sense of joy, connection, and fulfillment because it aligns with my purpose: Helping others to make their lives a little better.
For me, it is an expression of gratitude for life. I receive so much, and I must give something back. Otherwise, it (the love) stops flowing, and I stop glowing, or as others say, being happy.
->Reading tip: 100 ways to experience more joy and happiness
How do you experience joy? Is there a sixth level of joy? Let me know in the comment box below. I, and other readers of this article, look forward to read from you!
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Source:
—David Brooks, The Second Mountain
