I came across this juicy piece of wisdom fruit from C.S. Lewis about how praise makes joy complete; and it made me take a strong look at what I am doing to make joy complete...
C.S. Lewis from "Reflections on Psalms" (pg 93 - 95):
"But the most obvious fact about praise - whether of God or anything - strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless (sometimes even if) shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it. The world rings with praise - lover praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game - praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians and scholars ... My whole, more general difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can't help doing, about everything else we value.
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses, but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep telling one another how beautiful they are, the delight is incomplete till it is expressed."
...Delight is incomplete until it is expressed.
It is so easy to get caught up in the daily "doing" of life and work that we forget to give praise to the people and things that are the delight of our lives. What do you take delight in? What do you treasure? What are you holding back?
Take some time, sit back and reflect on the joys in your life. Is it your spouse, kids, parents, work, hobbies, God?
Give praise. Complete your enjoyment. Complete your joy.
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