It was a rainy day back in July when I took this photo.  I had been driving along an old country road in rural Jackson County Alabama looking for something to photograph.  Then I spotted this field of sunflowers and the rain slackened just a little.  There was no traffic on this rough road, so I pulled over to the edge and admired this beautiful field of flowers.  I grab an umbrella and exit the car and make my way through the soggy patch of 3 foot high sunflowers.  The slow soaking rain turns into a light drizzle and as I hold the umbrella above my head and over my camera I take this photograph.

        I perhaps take about 60 shots while I am in this field and about half way through this wonderful experience the rain stops and the sun begins to peak through the morning clouds.  Almost in chorus with the movement of the clouds and the shinning of the sun appears other visitors to my cheerful piece of real estate.  They have names like honey, killer and bumble; and on wings of silk they seem to float magically through the moist atmosphere like a great ship sailing with a gentle breeze.

        So here I stand; wet feet, sunflowers up to my waist, damp hair, and surrounded by my new friends, the bees.  I can still hear the sound of my buzzing buddies as they seem to bounce from flower to flower gathering food, scattering pollen and spreading good cheer everywhere they go.  This day they taught me a fantastic lesson in joy; one of the great privileges and opportunities in all of life is that of spreading joy.  To feel joyful is great, but when we share our joy with someone else it is then magnified and amplified and begins to echo for others to hear and enjoy.  Joys divided are increased. 

        The word joy is too great and grand to be confused with the superficial things we call happiness.  I cannot choose to be strong, but I can choose to be joyful. And when I am willing to do that, strength will follow.  I cannot choose to have everything go my way, but I can choose to face whatever comes with a joyful attitude and then I can double down and share my joy with others, which in turn increases my joy.  The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you.  The true source of cheerfulness is benevolence.  The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.

Something to think about:

• You’ll add to your joy when you count your blessings.

• Grief can take care of itself; but to get the full value of joy, you must have someone to share it with.

• What brings joy to the heart is not so much the friend’s gift as the friend’s love.

• Giving is a joy if we do it in the right spirit. It all depends on whether we think of it as “What can I spare?” or as “What can I share?”

• Unshared joy is an unlighted candle.

• Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief.

• We are all strings in the concert of God’s joy.

• Joy is a positive thing: in joy one does not only feel secure, but something goes out from oneself to the universe, a warm, positive aroma of love.

Joy is the feeling of grinning inside.
Rickey Moore