'ZEN'JOY & 'FEN'JOY

Lasting happiness comes from being kind to yourself and to others

- DR KEDAR PADTE

There’s an art to finding joy, particularly in tough situations such as the times we live in today. Here are a few thoughts that came to mind.

Zen: To sit in meditation

Joy: Happy in the present moment (perhaps free of thoughts)

Zenjoy: Joyful in zen (peaceful)

Fenjoy: Joyful without fear

The keyword is ‘delight’ and the basic concept is freedom; freedom from worries, anxiety, anger, competition, jealousy, insecurity and violence.

Joy can be defined as a sense of happiness that does not require an event. Just happy: it’s inside you.

Pleasure is happy moments that depend on external factors such as winning, gaming, impressing and material excesses that include this feeling and therefore has the other side of the coin – pain. Therefore, pleasure and pain are two sides of the same coin. The cause of pleasure, when withdrawn, may cause pain (though not necessarily). Joy, on the other hand, is just being happy; in the present moment. Most people seek happiness outside their body, mind, psyche or spirits. They even seek gurus to teach them ’peace and joy’. When we seek happiness outside our body and mind, it is generally related to the following:

- Relationship

- Ownership

- Power and authority

- Competition

- Religion

Let us examine these in real life.