JOY

I am still processing the Summer of Friends, as I called our summer. Long days and lazy evenings where we relaxed and had deep meaningful conversations. Similar in age (midlife) a topic that kept showing up in different ways was joy, how life is very good but how that deep feeling of intense joy is quite elusive. I am talking about those instances where you feel deep pleasure and happiness, when you see life as if you were a child, when you let life surprise you some. Letting go of complete control, plan or objective, engage the senses and just be…almost an hedonistic experience. These moments do not last long, and they are not intended to, that is why they are so special.

Those moments when we let go a little, when we just surrender to the now, allowing us to be fully present, soak it all in and feed the soul with no agenda. When life gets hard, having joy in the mix helps us know that hardships are temporary, that they will happen again, but that in between, if you are mindful and present you will have small moments of complete happiness that will carry through life with grace and a lighter heart.

On a scale of 1-10, how do you rate your joy level?