Did you ever sing the chorus: I’ve got that joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart?
I wondered why we sang ‘down in my heart’. I worked out that it needed to be deep so that it cannot easily be flushed out. Of course I know that joy does not live in my heart: that all corners of my heart are flushed out every single time my heart beats.
So where does our joy reside and how can we keep it in residence? Aaron Heller, a psychologist, experimented on students and, using MRIs, discovered that joy comes from the ventral striatum. That scientific fact does not fill me with joy. Nor does research by Rick Hanson, a neuropsychologist, which showed that our brains are better at storing negative emotions than positive ones. He uses this example: “When you look back at night on a typical day, what do you usually reflect on: the dozens of mildly pleasant moments, or the one that was awkward or worrisome?”
This is true for me but the good news is that we can change and become more positive – and God can help. People who meditate, and for me that includes people who sit quietly and pray, have thicker brains in the regions used for sensory awareness, just as pianists have brains thicker in the parts used for delicate fingering.
Rick Hanson began his article by writing: “Other than a transcendental factor – call it God, Spirit …whatever name – … what else could be going on than the functioning of matter? I …believe there is indeed a mysterious transcendental Something infusing objective and subjective reality, whose influence is subtle, profound, and full of grace”.
In other words, our brains are not just functioning as those of a higher animal – we can be positively influenced by our faith.
Our memories become woven into the fabric of our minds just as the food we eat becomes part of us. We need to focus on joyful events so that joy is stored – down in our hearts. Let’s notice each day the good things around us; beauty in the world, kindness from others, evidence of the fruit of the spirit within ourselves.
Many will remember the poem which begins: “What is this life if, full of care/We have no time to stand and stare”. Perhaps fewer know its last lines: “A poor life this if, full of care/We have no time to stand and stare”.
The first surprise for me is that the poem by W H Davies is found in an anthology called “Songs of Joy and others”. The second surprise is that the title poem features this line: “Train up thy mind to feel content”. Psychologists are boasting of their research in the 21st century; a poet was telling us these truths back in the early 20th!
Some words from much earlier than that: “he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God” – from Acts 16:34.