Anyone can tell you that without joy life can be pretty dull. Joy is actually indispensable. It isn't just a bonus in life. Joy is integral to progressive living, as much as love, hope, and understanding are. Joy moves us forward, and gives us the perspective to stay balanced even in unbalanced situations.
Pure, spiritual joy is inherent in everyone. Even if it isn't showing, it is present just the same. It's present in us, not because of something on the outside—maybe in our environment—that has given us reason to feel happy, but because it's a quality of our true being as God's image. God, Love, expresses joy in us.
Christ Jesus told his disciples, "I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." John 16:22. To possess a happiness that no one can take away, that's grounded in something substantial and doesn't fluctuate with current events, is not beyond our grasp, because joy is inherent in us.
