Some of us may be unfamiliar with Joseph Campbell, the man who wrote The Hero With a Thousand Faces. But we don’t have to know much more about him than the fact that he was an incredibly astute individual who studied and wrote about the human condition and, more importantly, the infinite capabilities we each have.

One of the points to remember about Campbell’s quote about wiping out pain is that joy is what will help us heal. Where there is joy, while there may still be some residual pain, it won’t hurt as much. It may be tempered, in the background, not preventing us from moving forward, and all this is a natural and entirely within our grasp means of dealing with pain.

The alternative, of course, is to succumb to the pain, to allow it to run roughshod over us and keep us mired in misery. No one wants that. But how and where do we find that place inside us where there is joy? What if we haven’t known joy for many months or even years? What if we have never felt joy? Are we to be excluded from having a release from our pain?

While we cannot be sure that there is a certain place inside us that knows joy or can even recognize joy, if we take it on faith that there is such a place, then we’ll be more likely to find it. We do have to get outside our constant fixation on problems and issues and daily pain, however. If we’re always thinking about how bad we feel, we’re naturally going to continue to feel pain.

A better suggestion is to put aside those nagging concerns, that never-ending gnawing pain that we think about all the time, and go do something that will bring a smile to someone else. Maybe that someone is a person we love dearly, and this would be an entirely natural thing for us to do. It could, however, be a stranger, someone that we meet in the rooms that is having a difficult time of it, possibly someone in early recovery. We could extend our hand in friendship, offer a welcome and a few kind words, make them feel a little less lonely and, for a time, less fearful and lost.

When we think of joy, maybe we can remember a time in our childhood when we looked forward with such excitement to Christmas. Remember the tree with all its colored lights and ornaments? How it smelled, how vivid the colors were in the room, and, of course, all those brightly-wrapped presents nestled beneath the tree? Even if there were few presents, as long as there was a tree and family around to celebrate the holiday, there must have been some feeling of happiness or joy? At least, for most of us that may have been a reality.

Try to bring that type of feeling to the present, at Christmas or during any other time of the year. The secret is to bring delight to another. In so doing, we will get a kind of transfer effect. Their smile and laughter will rub off on us, making us feel better as a result. Maybe it’s a small thing, a temporary feeling, but it still feels good. And feeling good in such a way is very healthy and normal.

When we can laugh and smile and reflect on the good things in life, we are more satisfied and happy. We may even discover that we feel joy. With joy, coming from that unknown place inside, we may find that we can let go of some of the pain that has plagued us for so long.

Be like children, who can find joy in the smallest things. Life is an incredible journey, there for each of us to experience. Find joy and heal the pain.

Maria Jose Fernandez Serrano of the University of Granada tested 123 people who were abusing more than one of these drugs: methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, Ecstasy, alcohol, and cocaine, and compared their results to those of 67 non-users. The people using drugs had problems recognizing anger, disgust, happiness, fear, and sadness in others’ facial expressions.

Previous research has found that 70% of drug abusers show deterioration in working memory, multi-tasking, planning, flexibility, and fluency of thought.