Joy versus Happiness

Friends:

I'm moved today to write about the spiritual and functional difference between joy and happiness. I'm not exactly sure what the motivation is behind this, except that I'm considering the life of my maternal grandmother and how she often (especially in her last few years of life) appeared to be quite joyful. Her joy was apparent even though she was suffering the losses and griefs that come with aging.
A comparions of joy and happiness are offered to you to bound our discussion. While you may have your own beliefs and definitions, a differentiation, using antonyms for the two terms, found at (www.defin.com) suited my purposes today.
"One way to understand the difference between joy and happiness is to look at the opposites of the two feelings. The opposite of joy is fear while the opposite of happiness is unhappiness and misery."
It is helpful to note that most references in defining joy versus happiness talk about joy being much longer lasting than momentary happiness. This makes me wonder about the framers of the Constitution when they stated that the United States were all about "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Others have recently posited that many if not most of the ills of our society can be traced back to this (potentially) flawed premise that we as citizens of the U.S. should pursue momentary happiness. What happens then when happiness fades (like satiety following a good meal)?
If happiness is fleeting but quite pleasing, then just like rats in a Skinner box we will do whatever we need to do in order to be happy again. I think that there is some validity in this explanation for why we appear as a culture to be on a never ending treadmill of acquisition (aside: the self storage industry in the U.S. was a $15 billion industry in 2008 and growing) and spending on luxuries such as cars, boats, ever larger homes, plastic surgery, etc. Why do these things keep growing you wonder? The answer is because they provide happiness not joy.
I've often stated that our most important act of stewardship is the care of the body that God gave to us and enlivened. Though I still believe that is true, caring for our bodies has taken precedence over caring for the whole of ourselves. Thus, we do not pursue those things that lead to peace and joy - we go to the gym to get "6-pack abs" and "bigger guns" (aka biceps) that last until we find that having those things does not bring us joy (and it gets ever more difficult to maintain). We at Possibilities Journey (www.possjrny.org) believe in returning the main focus of stewardship to caring for the whole of the person (mind, body and spirit) in connection to a spiritual community that can continue to feed and hold the person accountable for their choices. We prefer to focus on the pursuit of wholeness which will be joyful and freeing.
Happiness versus joy - which will be your choice? Let us know how we can enable and empower you to pursue joy in your life. Let go of unhappiness, misery and fear, join us on the journey towards wholeness and joy.

Peace,
Dan