The name for this website / blog / thing has been about 8 years in the making.  Around that time, I came to realize that I’d been more or less just existing in the world, and that I’d actually been experiencing a bit of post-partum depression.  I made a conscious choice to Live a More Joyful Life.  I wasn’t really sure how to accomplish this, but I knew I had to make the effort somehow.

Somewhere along the way, I sort of adopted a statement to reinforce that choice: “I refuse to live my life in any way other than Centered in Joy.”

In the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of meeting some truly wonderful women.  I have Vicki Flaugher to thank for helping me figure out that Joy was the common thread that bound together the disparate elements of my professional life and my personal life, and inspiring me to start this new, more consolidated approach to my web presence.  I also have Dana Minney to thank for encouraging me to focus on my Pleasure Quotient.  And just being around Erin Byrne with her infectious energy and good humor is enough to make anybody Happy…

So between the time I’ve spent with these three ladies, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the differences between Joy, Happiness and Pleasure.  I don’t claim to be an expert, but here’s what I’ve come up with – at least in part…

The three are related, but separate, although they can overlap.  Happiness is an emotion, and I believe it’s possible to change your emotional state.  There are many ways to do this, but as with anything else it’s important to *want* to make the change.  Pleasure is transitory, a sensation – something that can be physical, mental or emotional in nature.  Joy is a State of Mind, a way of life, a lens through which one experiences everything.

It is my hope, in these pages, to more deeply explore these and other topics, and I look forward to getting feedback from others with like minds.