I had several posts written up about Harvey and what I see as the tragedy of it all. I deleted them all. My thoughts on that matter, when verbally expressed, seem to elicit flat out rage from a number of people and agreement from others. I’ve no real problem with conflict, though I don’t like to incite it intentionally unless I feel there is a wrong that needs to be righted. I’m not sure that the wrongs of Harvey can be righted by a blog post that I make here and it will serve simply to further entrench those individuals that choose rage, anger, and hate. The Dark Side is always the EASY path, but NEVER the right path.
I wrote a seventh article for The Fuji Declaration back in April. They chose not to use it, I’ve been sitting on it, and I thought now would be a good time for it, so here it is . . .
Joy
We all experience rough times, disappointments, detours, and dead ends. How many of those are based on our preconceived expectations? Sometimes a dead end is in fact a new beginning. A detour is a well placed change of direction. All it takes to see obstacles as joyous opportunities is letting go of our expectations and trusting the divine.
Joy, much like peace, is a simple yet complex feeling. It’s more than just an emotion and it’s not simply happiness. It’s laughter with love combined with serenity coupled with elation. It’s a mom holding a newborn baby. It’s a dog at the door greeting its owner returning from a day of work. And if we allow it, it can be the unwelcome news that we receive at the doctor or the heated discussion that we have with a loved one.
Joy doesn’t arise from our circumstances, rather it comes from what we choose to center our lives around. When we reignite the divine spark in us, we can begin to center our lives around our true nature, part of which is to be joyful.
Having abundant joy when our lives are based on a material consciousness is difficult at best and most likely unthinkable. Our thoughts are fraught with wants and superficialities. We become mired in “What if”, “I don’t have”, and “If only I had” and we fail to see the beauty and abundance of “I love”, “I do have”, and “My needs are met.”
Part of joy can be happiness, but joy, unlike happiness, is not necessarily something that we can manufacture or create. Joy is something that we must be prepared to receive. Our mind, body, and spirit must be in a joyful state for us to experience joy. When we align our lives with the guiding principles of the Fuji Declaration we ignite the divine spark that resides in us and we prepare ourselves to be joyful.
Joy is a choice. There will always be storms to endure. We have the opportunity to be joyful regardless of the disturbances that rage around us. We can see our lives and the world in which we live through a sense of awe and wonderment or we can look at them with a frame of mind based on fear and scarcity. When we choose awe and wonderment, the storms, though still intimidating, can be seen for what they are: situations in which to remain joyful.
Every human has the divine spark residing in them. As individuals, we simply have to reconnect with it. Once we choose that path, our lives will open up to new possibilities and new insights. Through those we will experience joy as we live our true nature and are able to see our lives, the lives of those around us, and the universe with a sense of wonder.