A Joyful Journey

 

A minister friend of mine who was being ordained wrote in the program, “I strived to remember to embrace life, to continue to be open, to be that which I teach and above all to enjoy the process.” I love what she wrote because she recognized that if we only experience joy in the outcome we rob ourselves of all the moments of joy along the way. Joy is a by-product of how we live and what we seek. Ernest Holmes taught that every day we are meeting the realities of life and when we stay open to them in love, peace, wisdom and joy we are automatically blessed.

There is a Zen proverb that goes, “When walking walk, when eating eat.” It means that every activity we engage in holds the possibility of bringing us joy if we are open to it. It speaks of being mindful and living in the moment. Lao Tzu reminds us, “Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”

We find joy when we pursue the meaning in our life. When we give the good that we as an individual expression of Spirit can give. We can only be happy if we are living our story. Joy derives from the meaning of our life. Rumi says it wonderfully, “You were born with potential, you were born with goodness and trust, you were born with ideals and dreams, you were born with greatness, you were born with wings, you were not meant for crawling-so don’t, you have wings, learn to use them and fly.”