Living with Joy

Read Latest Book Update: Finished First Writing of A Battle Plan for Joy

Welcome to our Home Page, Living with Joy! We are proud to announce 2013 as the Projected Release Date for “A Battle Plan for Joy,” a book by Gladys Simmons Carson. The author and the editors are working diligently to meet deadlines. Carson says: “Writing A Battle Plan for Joy is one of my most challenging and rewarding experiences. The focus and discipline required just to continue down this uncertain path is teaching me a lot about myself. Reliving some of the less-than-enjoyable events from my distant past has allowed me opportunities to better understand the acts of some people, and forgive the acts of others, while living with joy.” More pencils please!

A BATTLE PLAN FOR JOY extracts simple lessons from early childhood, and integrates them with hard-taught lessons of later years, to present the reader with alternatives to medication-induced happiness, and circumstances-evoked misery. It challenges the reader to stop being a complaining, back-seat driver, and get behind the steering wheel, to take responsibility for his/her own joy quotient. Then this frank, forceful, and timely book culminates with a practical battle plan – A BATTLE PLAN FOR JOY.

We hope you will find the finished product enjoyable.

GIVE JOY A CHANCE

joy Throughout this website you will find articles and posts that promote a lifestyle that advances joy. I am convinced that physical fitness, mental strength, and a right attitude are allies of joy. I advocate making time to eat a balanced diet. I plead with you to keep moving, and not allow a lack of time or energy stop you from giving your body the exercise it needs to be strong and healthy. And I encourage you to monitor your thoughts to prevent a joy-killing attitude.

You, not your circumstances, have the power to shape your view of you—and your view of the world. Then your view will in part dictate your feelings; and ultimately, your action or inaction. So GIVE JOY A CHANCE! Stop complaining; and start taking charge.

From Chapter 14 – A Battle Plan for Joy

Discomfort; Not Despair

Through circumstances I would never have chosen, I gained strength I may never have known. Despite daily psychological abuse, and frequent undue physical pain, I find myself in agreement with an old cliché, "I wouldn't change a thing, if I could." I understand now that it took my total experience to mold me into the person of joyful gratitude I became.

Hard times not only revealed evidence of my strength, but increased it. Having withstood such tempestuous tests as a child, seldom does anything trouble me as an adult. Negativism rarely comes my way that I have not anticipated, or in which I cannot see some positive elements. I thank God for giving me the capacity to look below the surface of presentation, and try to see people for who they really are, and not just the persons they disguise themselves to be.

"Mother, how did you know that?" I cannot count the times my son, Jeff, has asked me such a question. While some of my intuitiveness must be accepted as a gift, I am persuaded that a great deal of it comes from the wisdom of mindful experience. The things we go through on a daily basis, particularly those things we consider to be unpleasant, should not be cast aside and forgotten. Rather they should be used as weights, barbells for mental, emotional, and spiritual strength-training.

The adverse events I chose to relate herein, though not appreciated at the time, led to marvelous strength-building adventures. Each had its own elements of barbell adaptability. Some aspects of the scenes may be unpleasant. But the purpose of their inclusion is not to complain about abuse, but to boast about triumph.

Living with Joy

GIVE JOY A CHANCE

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From Chapter 14 – A Battle Plan for Joy