I’ve been thinking about joy. This might be a subject that seems far off when you are in crisis and submerged in what might be thought of as dire straits. We find ourselves in all kinds of predicaments in life where everything seems to close in on you, and you feel like you are in a walking trance. We’ve all been there. Some people seem to bounce from one crisis to another where others find themselves only occasionally in these predicaments. The problem is, it’s easy to get stuck in our familiar way of thinking. That can be a problem.
If you take a moment to observe the way you think, you will generally notice that your mind is engaged in identifying a problem you face, and then trying to address it. It can feel like problems are on a conveyor belt and they keep coming right at us. I’m not trying to imply that it’s bad to solve problems. If your car doesn’t start, that’s a problem, and you have to figure out what to do about it. But…
If you observe the flow of your thoughts, you’ll notice something interesting. If you are not facing a problem, your mind can become bored and filled with a certain emptiness. This experience frightens many people to a point where they start to look for another problem to fill up their life. At first glance, you might be skeptical of this tendency I’m suggesting, but in a very quiet way, take a look. If you notice that you might do this, consider trying an experiment in identifying what you do when you run out of problems to solve today.
Allow yourself to feel bored or perhaps more correctly, empty. Stay there for a minute. Your mind will resist and tell you to get on with more important things. Don’t follow the lead of your mind. Stay there in what seems like emptiness. See whether you can quiet down your mind, perhaps with long, slow deep breaths which naturally have a relaxing effect. Notice that there are no demands here. It is what is sometimes called simply being.
Notice that you are more alert and observant. There is a freeing feeling. Nothing to accomplish, nothing to solve, just showing up in the present moment. I want to be clear, joy cannot be forced and it is not dependent on your perception that life is finally going your way. Life goes the way it goes.
Joy seems to come out of an experience of gratefulness on a grand scale where you are glad to be alive, and appreciating the entire dance of life. This creates a certain lightness of being, and a feeling of belonging. You begin to realize that life is not a problem to be solved but rather life is to be enjoyed in all of its magnificence.