I began this year with “Fighting Parkinson’s, and 2026…the year of joy!” Part of feeling joy on the inside is the creation of internal joy.
The need for joy
When I had Parkinson’s, I knew in the healing the mind part of the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®, I needed to subdue or eliminate negative emotions. I had done a very good job at that part of the recovery. However, I started to feel empty inside.
Also, when I explored why I was feeling empty inside, I realized I was missing joy in my heart vessel. Additionally, I had no idea of how to create joy on the inside.
Finally, after a couple of days of contemplation, the light bulb in my head went on.
Turning on the light bulb
I was sitting in my living room contemplating how to create joy in my heart. Also, in looking back at the situation, part of my problem was that I was trying to think how to create a feeling.
As I was sitting in the living room, I heard Sally talking with one of our children. Moreover, she told our child, “Sometimes in order to have a good friend, you need to be a good friend first.”
The light bulb went on in my head:
If I wanted to have joy on the inside, I needed to share joy first.
How to create internal joy
Finally, I knew what I needed to do. However, how was I to share joy when I felt like a prisoner inside a not-functioning-well Parkinson’s body.
And then it hit me: smile. Also, I realized that when I smiled at people, they lit up and smiled back. Additionally, it occurred to me that this was a form of sharing joy.
However, I needed to put the theory to the test. The next time I was walking in public and felt somebody staring at me, I looked her in the eyes and smiled. Also, I then watched her whole face light up and I got a big smile back. Additionally, I had two physical responses to her smile: my smile got bigger and I felt a feeling in my chest like my heart just cracked open.
This experience was overwhelming and felt so magnificent, I started looking for my next victim with whom to share a smile. Additionally, I smiled more at everybody who lived in my home and everybody who came to my home.
Finally, the only sad part to this lesson was that my face hurt. It had been so long since I had smiled that much, the smiling muscles in my face hurt. Also, do your best to keep your smile active so that this does not happen to you.
Additional inspiration for the creation of internal joy, part 1
Years ago, Sally and I watched a movie called “Mission: Joy.” I highly recommend it to you. Also, to help get you inspired, here is the trailer:
Conclusion
This blog post says part 1. Creating internal joy is a process. Additionally, the next few blog posts will share other things I did to create internal joy. Finally, I am hopeful that some or all of the things I did will resonate with you to assist you in creating your own internal joy.
Please post a comment below and let us know how good you feel inside when sharing with others the joy of a smile!
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
Thank you, Howard.
Joy is an essential human emotion. It is not a thought process created by the ego mind.
It arises in the moment – that smile, interaction with a pet, communing with nature.
Today, I will share joy in the Here and Now.
Thank you for this Howard, joy definitely comes from inside, no one can do that for you. I have been doing some scriptural reading, rather let me say I receive daily devotions that are highly positive from Joel Osteen & one of the devotions was about one’s individual happiness & scripturally, it is clear that happiness comes from within. Yes smiling at strangers was one lesson I learned from you & it’s really amazing how that makes one forget about themselves & the condition including creating friendly conversations with strangers and cashiers. Just throwing a joke at them I realized made them feel appreciated and this makes me in turn much more relaxed. Joy is definitely the way to go. I am daily learning to cultivate my own internal happiness. Using “it’s okay” also has helped me so much in many situations where I know I have no control over it creates some form of acceptance.
Thank you Howard. Happiness is internal.
Yes, I do believe smiling is contagious. Smile and the whole world smiles with you!
Thanks for the blog.
You always share such interesting and helpful information, Howard, and I look forward to your posts. We do tend to forget about smiling in our busy lives. Thank you for the reminder.
A Chinese proverb says: “Your smile comes back to you.” So simple yet true.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us, especially the smiling. This has helped me in many moments!
Things are going really well. Recent walking is getting easier and more fluid. Nice to see some progress. I also really like Howard’s example about how one page of a book weighs almost nothing, but if you write one page each day, eventually you have 300, 500 pages, and they add up to something substantial. That’s how I’ve been thinking about my recipe practice recently.
Thank you all so much. I love reading the blog and hearing everyone’s perspectives. Wish you all the best : )
Thanks Howard. I needed to see this!
Thank you Howard.
Smile and the world smiles with you!! Joy is a wonderful feeling your body feels alive.
I like how Howard was looking for his “next victim” to share a smile with. What a great pursuit!
Several years ago my mother commented on my wife playing with one of our daughhters at about 3 months old. She observed that my wife was “teaching our girls to laugh” by making silly noises and then laughing. What a great example of seeing joy in action!
Thank you Howard for your help in the serious pursuit of healing by revealing the importance of childlike joy..
joy joy joy
looking forward to watching the movie :)
hugs
Bruce
Thank you Howard for this lovely blog.
It is easy to get joy from the outside but I find it difficult to find joy from the inside of my Parkinson’s body. When I feel joy, I forget my Parkinson’s and it is wonderful! I really want to feel more joy all the time and at that point there will be no more Parkinson’s!
There is no doubt that I feel great inside, better than great when sharing with others the joy of my smile! When I smile naturally, it’s easy. These days I don’t get out nearly as much as I used to and since I live alone, I had to start smiling to myself. When I do this, I have to smile like I mean it. I learned that there’s a trick to make smiling work and it needs to be done right to have the effect we want— the effect we need to produce joy.
I read that a true genuine smile is called a Duchenne smile—it uses all the muscles in the face, including the laugh lines around the eyes. Engaging all of these muscles is important even in a fake smile. I make sure I smile this way every time I engage in smiling, especially when I’m alone.
I’m looking forward to learning other ways of producing joy— things I can do on my own that don’t rely on being out and about in the world, at least for now. I’m smiling at each and every one of you PD warriors right now!
#Temporary #Courageous #Limitless
Thanks Howard!
I also needed to see this!
There is nothing I love more than sharing a smile with another human! Connection is at the core of who I am. During the most difficult time in my recovery I have experienced a loss of connection because I could not bare to let someone else see my shaking, or rather acknowledge it. I understand now that most difficult time was there for me to experience full love and acceptance for my true authentic self. It has also allowed me to ask for help if needed. I understand now that the true healing has always come from accepting myself no matter what. The joy I can feel now connecting with others brings me joy in a true authentic way.
For that I am forever grateful!
And so it is….
Practicing joy every day by smiling at any/everyone!!!
It feels so wonderful when I see someone smile back!
Thank you Howard.
Keep joy in your heart every day and drive the dark away!
Yes, SMILING!
I’ve been joyful as I smile at my reflection in the mirror, many times a day,
and as I smile at familiar & unknown folks, at home and in the world!
Smiling shifts my mood & feeling right away, and it is contagious!
Thank you again and again, Howard!
I remove each obstacle in my path, then fill up my empty vessel with joy! To do this I smile and share my laughter, my warmth and generosity of spirit. I know that God’s world is full of joy, and I celebrate!
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods… (Ode to Joy, 9th Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven).
Joy is within me. But smiling is difficult for me. What do you do when you have crooked teeth? I can’t manage to accept this. I have tried. Tomorrow I once again have a consultation with a dentist. Maybe there is a solution. I’m looking forward to it.
And perhaps this is my big issue.
I’m sending a smile over to you. Thank you, Howard, for the year of joy.
Your smile is the first thing people like about you