Where does joy live?

Do you know how when you go on vacation and just about when the vacation is over you FINALLY relax? You let go of doing tourist things, of seeing the sights and checking off your list everything you dreamt of doing for the months leading up to vacation? That moment when you let go of expectations, of the need to be anywhere and do anything?

When you finally just sit and stare at the water, or find contentment in the smallest blessing of warm breeze or exotic flower? 

It’s that moment when peace can enter. When contentment, gratitude, joy and appreciation can arrive. When we stop doing.

This is our true state of being; joy, peace, and gratitude. 

I know this because I’ve had plenty of practice over the last few years and especially this year. 

It used to be uncomfortable to be in my body. I experienced lots of pain and suffering. I would do anything to distract myself from being in my body. I watched TV, ate, had a list of projects, read, anything to keep me from being present with the pain

I did not feel part of the flow of life. I felt separated from joy. 

I didn’t know how to move past this way of being; angry, frustrated, sad. I knew deep down that it wasn’t supposed to be like this. I wasn’t supposed to spend my life being bed-bound. I knew I was meant for adventure and that our natural state was joy. I just didn’t know how to get there. 

One of the wonderful things about this lifestyle is the abundance of time to just be. To stare at the sunset, to listen to the birds, to watch the scenery flow by as we travel a lonely road looking for our next destination. We don’t have a 9-5 job, we don’t have a house to care for, our simple life allows us opportunities that we didn’t used to appreciate.

These moments all string together now, and then another now, and another now, into stillness and softness until the entire day becomes a series of now moments, a walking meditation that carries me through each moment of doing. As I clean the floor, make dinner, do the dishes, each moment is an opportunity to allow myself to be in the moment, not to rush through the chores and have-to list so I can get to a better next moment. 

What if life is not about how much you can get done in the day? How many chores, work hours, projects finished. What if we are here to learn to drop into ourselves? What if this life isn’t about working hard, and having more stuff? What if we have it backwards?

Can we get past the mind’s constant chatter, the need to be in activity every moment, and just feel? If you said this to me 4 years ago I would have balked at this idea. I would have come up with a million reasons to hold onto my way of life. 

Now, I have no interest in a life that is about struggle and suffering and fear.

The more I practice being present the happier I become. Instead of being filled up with busyness I practice filling my body with gratitude. The more space that I allow by just being in my body, the more room for joy.

 

As corny as this sounds this practice has fundamentally changed my life. I am happy. I still have pain in my body, but now instead of rushing into the next distraction, I am able to sit still with my body, let my mind quiet, and find a whole new world open up inside. 

Now I find complete joy staring at a beautiful tree, a hummingbird stopping to say hello, peace in the color of sunlight bouncing off the water. 

I no longer feel separate from myself or from God/Source/Nature. I am learning how to be IN the richness of flow, of allowing life to stream through me and around me. 

Because flow and peace is not something outside us. The beauty of life is first found within. I know I am seriously treading on corny/spiritual ground again. For anyone who knows the decades that I have suffered with chronic health and as a byproduct a thwarted career, and hobbies might have an inkling of how dramatic this experience is for me. To feel the opposite side of the coin from fear, depression, and pain is truly a miracle! 

The less I do, the more that I just am, the more I find true happiness. It is in the stillness that our true nature has an opportunity to arise. A to-do list satisfied has never brought me wonderful feelings of bliss, peace and love.

So I encourage everyone to find a few minutes everyday to step away from your expectations and just sit. Watch a tree, the sunlight, a candle or even a beautiful piece of art and just breath. Just feel. Turn off the mind (if you can), and see what room you can find within. Don't wait until your next vacation.

Where does joy live in you?

Love to you all