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The Art of Joyful Living
| Published Monday, March 10, 2014 |

By Brien Sorne
Thursday Review guest columnist

In the endless maize of choices we are presented every day that promise health and happiness, here is a quick list of basics for finding lasting joy in this otherwise temporary, entertainment-oriented culture. Fair warning: these are not available without making a decided effort to turn away from the incessant drone of the aforementioned tide.

All people need a place to belong. Even our mental reality starts from a relational perspective. We need to be with our people to thrive.

The interactions with our people need to give us life rather than injure or kill us. We also need to be life-giving in our treatment of others. We need to receive and give life.

The most resilient people are not those who never have anything go wrong in their lives but rather those who can bounce back when things do go wrong. Those who are able to maintain their relationships and regulate their emotions (stay synchronized) when things are going wrong recover quickly.

Each day and stage of growth should find us becoming more complex and interesting than we have been. Trauma blocks maturity and recovery must restore maturity if we are to thrive.

Although we must belong like everyone else, and receive and give life like everyone else, and recover from things that go wrong like everyone else and mature like everyone else, we must become individuals like no one else. Through our hearts we come to know ourselves as God sees us and to know God as well.


Editor's note: Brien Sorne is VP of Alcom Marketing and the host of Tallahassee Talks with Brien Sorne, which airs on 93.3 FM in Tallahassee, Florida, Saturdays 9 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.