I was listening to my favorite radio program, Trans World International, and discussion was on the difference between happiness and joy. My immediate reaction was that happiness is a more immediate phenomenon and perhaps more superficial whereas joy is a background state of mind which is more sublime, less dependent on circumstances and much more stable. It would arise from assurances about the value of and eternality of one’s world view.
When Saints were crucified, they did so in the knowledge that what they were doing was right and went in joy. No one wants to get hurt or killed through happiness. Joy is deeper surely.
As for ‘peace’, I am reminded of Nelson Mandella’s Peace and Reconciliation Committee in South Africa. You can’t have one without the other. When we say we are ‘at peace’ we have resolved the situation as much as is possible within the human framework. I think of ‘The Peace of God which passes all understanding’. It is definitely not a feature of the left brain but a balance between us homo sapiens and our environment on all levels. You are not ‘at peace’ when you have taken too much Valium because the drug has closed off channels of the mind to give the illusion of stability.
Peace is not the absence of war but an inward sense of completeness or wholeness. The word ‘peace’ is mentioned 429 times in the King James Bible so it must be important.
Do I have peace – difficult one – I think you know the answer to that when you meet a truly peaceful person who radiates that quality. Alas there are very few of those around as we get closer to Armageddon. Sad eh. I came across this website which some may find helpful at least in clearing away the debris.
