“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you. A joy.” ~ Rumi
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How are you doing today? Are things going the way you want them to? Are you living the life of your dreams? Are you happy and content with your present state of being? More importantly, is your life filled with joy in this very moment?
If you can answer “Yes”, to this last question, then you are a very blessed individual indeed.
If not, no worries. Join the other 99.9% of people on the planet. That’s why we’re here today.
We are going to explore some very practical ways to cultivate joy in your life and “Garden of Well-being.
Have you ever really spent much time pondering how you might be able to be a happier person and live a more joyful life?
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Thich Naht Hanh points out,
“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive you will see it.”
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Well this bit of good news is truly encouraging…If we can learn to stay in the present moment.
We would do well to remember however, that Joy and Happiness are two very different animals.
Happiness is fleeting. It is capricious, and depends on outer circumstances, events and situations which and can come and go at a moment’s notice. Just so you know, there is nothing inherently wrong with happiness. I hope you are filled to the brim with happiness in this very moment of your life.
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On the other hand, let us consider Joy. Where Happiness is a feeling which comes and goes, Joy is an underlying state of being. Unlike Happiness, it cannot be contrived or captured. It is like beautiful bird or butterfly: wild and free. You can’t catch it and take it captive. You have to allow it land to on you. You can’t try to hold onto it or it will die or fly away.
Unlike happiness that can be “contrived”, joy is a state of mind, a reveling in the goodness of the present moment. When you have learned to cultivate Joy you are filled with deep satisfaction, pleasure and elation in the now. This means being content with whatever your situation, and recognizing a higher state than that of Happiness.
So how does one go about cultivating Joy in one’s life?
Well, at the risk of sounding like I am contradicting what I just said about not being able to contrive or capture or “make” Joy happen in one’s life, there are some things you can do to put yourself in Joy’s way.
You are probably here today because you love Nature and spending time outside.
Depending on where you live, as the days are getting colder and shorter, it can grow more and more challenging to step outside our comfort zone and get outdoors. Spending time outdoors is so vital to a sense of well-being.
One of our favorite outdoor activities when it’s cold outside is to bundle up real warm in layers, and take the dogs, (all three of them), and the horse, (if there’s not too much snow on the ground), for a nice brisk walk down the lane and out along the trail by the lake…
The clear, cold air and the tranquil scenery with the snow-covered mountains in the background is so invigorating and brings such a feeling of euphoria that I can’t help but experience a deep sense of joy. No matter what else is going on in my life at the time.
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There is something about connecting with the natural world that boosts everything that is good within in us another notch higher. It is Vitamin N for the soul. This, in conjunction with Meditation is the miracle drug. We know from clinical studies that meditation has been shown to offer a plethora of natural health benefits, including lowered blood pressure, better sleep, a reduction of stress, headaches, chronic muscle fatigue, aches and pains and even depression and coronary artery disease.
When you combine the two, the effects can be phenomenal.
So, if you want more joy in your life, put yourself in the way of this dynamic duo of natural goodness…
Again, remember what Thich Naht Hanh said,
“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive you will see it.”
It is time for us to intentionally focus a few minutes on our day in being attentive, and awaken to joy. The more we practice the better we get at it, and the more time our lives will be filled with this wonderful state of well-being
But before we begin, I just want to share a story Mark Nepo tells in his classic, The Book of Awakening.
“It is said a great Zen teacher asked an initiate to sit by stream until he heard all the water had to teach. After days of bending his mind around the scene, a small monkey happened by, and, in one seeming bound of joy, splashed about in the stream. The initiate wept and returned to his teacher, who scolded him lovingly, ‘The monkey heard. You just listened.’”
So today as we practice in our meditation and listen, be sure to not just “Listen”. Make it your intention to “Hear”. And when you do, jump all the way in and splash in the stream with joy…
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Photos by Brett Wilson
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