Joy to the World…
When I first heard the statement…”find the joy in life”, the first thought that came to my mind was…”joy to the world the Lord has come…”
Today, that word has now become unattached to a culture and has a tangible meaning for me. I can feel JOY. I can experience J O Y. And on most days, I can do this at will. Even better, when I’m in the groove, I feel this constant buzzing of joy in heart all the time.
So what changed. Well, some roads are long and hard sprinkled with wonderful teachers. So if you’re looking around, you see something and maybe pick it up. Might be just a tiny little pebble, that once in your hand, makes all the difference in the word. For me, during my 200 hour teacher training with the Shambhava School of Yoga, my teacher said something to the affect of how to feel JOY…picture a moment in time that has a special place in your heart. For me, a picture of my son Kai with a BIG, and I mean big, juicy smile that reached to his eyes and beyond, just melts my heart. I’ve memorized it. And I feel J O Y when I think of that picture, that moment in time, his JOY captured on paper. And I used that picture to train my body and mind to feel and know what JOY is as an experience.
Fast forwarding a bit, 2011 has been one of those roads where shifting into 4 wheel drive was needed. Looking back though, thinking of the year brings a feeling of lightness and openness to my heart. Of triumph. And I smile. With each of the moments where I could have chosen to get off the road, out of the car or even turn around, I stopped for a breath (or 10 or 1000), looked around and searched for the JOY in the moment. Sometimes just a tiny shift in your gaze or thoughts or intentions can make a huge difference in how you experience an an event. After awhile, that became a habit and the JOY just seemed to flow to me, even during the more rough patches. So extending the choice to be filled with JOY to generally being JOYFUL, as a state of being.
Maybe easier said than done, but WELL worth the mental effort of being intentional with the thoughts. Get some of that JOY in your heart, let it smooth out the rough patches. Or gift you with bigger off road tires! 🙂
Live out Loud!
