The Joy of Being
The Joy of Being
With the renewal of spring and the rebirth of the natural world around us, we are also blessed with a heightened awareness of the joy of simply being alive. In fact we ARE life!
Whatever our philosophy or belief system, there is an acknowledgement that each of us knows the difference between something that is alive and something that is dead. There is a force that energizes people, plants, trees and animals that makes this noticing particularly obvious to everyone. There are many names for this. Life Force, Source, Energy are simply a few. From ancient to modern times wise individuals have shared their knowing of this sacred "Being", this "I AM" within us and our need to honour and live life from this place.
This Being, this I AM, is beyond our physical body, beyond our emotion and beyond our thinking mind. It transcends understanding. It transcends words and yet is always accessible. It exists in the moment of now. It exists in us all. It interconnects us all and verifies we are part of "One". It affirms our interdependence.
We feel it as a quickened heartbeat, an internal glow, a tingling sensation throughout our body. We feel it in the moments of overwhelming love we have for our partners, children and dear friends. We feel it in our awe for a beautiful sunset and a full moon. In fact it never leaves us because it is us. It expresses as our sense of peace and fulfillment. It expresses as our joy.
Millions of people all over the world comment on the aliveness in the eyes of the Dalai Lama. People speak of the warmth, love, compassion and joy he exudes. This is the I AM. This is Being expressed through him. He understands that all life is sacred. All life is to be honoured, loved and cherished. It is living from this knowing that brings the joy of being. Regardless of what he experiences in the world he continues to discipline himself to live from his I AM.
The truth is that each of us has this exact same essence within us. It is us! Our adventure is to discover how to express fully and consistently. Our challenge is to peel away the layers of our self created thoughts to live in this place of Being, this place of I AM.
Although I AM, Being, is always present and accessible we need to be conscious and awake to fully experience
the truth of who we truly are. It requires an abiding and dedicated vigilance of our thoughts. It requires us to pay attention.
Many thoughts detract from this sacred acknowledgment of Being. Each time we judge ourselves or another we cloud our access to I AM. Each time we speak an unkind word we lessen our expression. Each time we take personally the words of another and each time we make assumptions of another the awareness of our deep joy fades within.
Through our thoughts we create our judgments, ideas and beliefs. We become attached to our thoughts and we harden in our viewpoints. We convince ourselves that we are right and another who shares a different perspective is wrong. We give our attention to our thoughts and not to the truth of who we are. We suspend our knowing that we are all One and interconnected by Being, by the Life Force.
Instead of satisfying and fulfilling us, our self created thoughts divide us from one another. In our attempts to prove we are right, we stop holding one another sacred, we stop cherishing one another, and we stop loving. Instead we become antagonistic, angry and violent in our thoughts and words. We even escalate our need to be right into conflict, murder and war. In the end it simply saddens us all. Our joy becomes deeply buried under our suffering and pain.
There is literally only one way for this to be different. Each of us individually must turn our attention to the sacredness of Being. Each time our thoughts turn to judgment and the need to be right, we must remember in the moment that these thoughts are not the truth of us. Each of us must turn our attention in gratitude and generosity to the Life Force that unites us. Each of us must turn our attention to kindness and to compassion. Each of us must uncover the I AM.
Does this diligence take effort? You bet it does! Moment to moment each and every day the vigilance of thought is revisited. Each and every day, we need to find the space within us to move beyond our self created thoughts, judgments and perspectives. Each and every day we need to find the generosity of spirit to accept one another as we truly are. It is all that Buddha, Jesus, Mohamed and all other great spiritual teachers have asked us to do. It is very simple. It requires great attention. It holds abundant reward.
As we practice this discipline the truth of our world unfolds more and more. The magic in each moment is revealed. We become fully alive! We start to notice what is around us and our gratitude for everything in our world increases exponentially. Magic happens and life becomes radiant. Our generosity towards ourselves and others expands and a lightness of spirit emerges. Our world view of possibility and fulfillment overflows. We live in the joy of being.
Let each of us take a moment this day to loosen our hold on our thoughts and judgments. Let us take a moment to be grateful for all we have. Let us take a moment to acknowledge the sacred in ourselves and one another. Let us reengage in a generosity of spirit. For just a moment let us each simply experience the joy of being. And then let us continue this in the next moment, and the next moment... and the next moment......