Joy

There is a mountain of unfinished resolutions behind me. Luckily, I’ve let that disappointment go and simply accepted that they just can’t all get done. Some were too big. Others, too boring. Others, well…everyone is lazy sometimes.

Maybe, there just wasn’t enough momentum behind the resolution. Not enough caring. Not enough personal desire to change. Adopting a new discipline is hard. It can be worth the effort (Look at the pounds go! Look at my business flourish!). But without real passion behind your resolutions and dreams, it seems astronomically unlikely that they will ever happen.

This year, ask yourself: How do you want to feel? What if instead of accomplishing something specific, you focused every day on feeling more joyful? More ecstatic? More spiritual? More grounded? With that kind of resolution, your day-to-day activities can change dramatically. You won’t be derailed by the unexpected intrusions of life, you simply refocus and incorporate it all into your plan for happiness. Every day, remember, life is really about being happy. And every day, try again to take yourself closer to your joy.

Happiness is as easy as a little gratitude. Check out this hilarious excerpt from Conan O’Brien. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll think about it…

This video came from Usually Barefoot Meg - lots of comments to peruse there as well. For more information on this comedian, check out the wiki for Louis CK.

I was dead, then alive.
Weeping, then laughing.

The power of love came into me,
and I became fierce like a lion,
then tender like the evening star.

He said, ‘You’re not mad enough.
You don’t belong in this house.’

I went wild and had to be tied up.
He said, ‘Still not wild enough
to stay with us!’

I broke through another layer
into joyfulness.

He said, ‘Its not enough.’
I died.

He said, ‘You are a clever little man,
full of fantasy and doubting.’

I plucked out my feathers and became a fool.
He said, ‘Now you are the candle
for this assembly.’

But I’m no candle. Look!
I’m scattered smoke

He said, ‘You are the Sheikh, the guide.’
But I’m not a teacher. I have no power.

He said, ‘You already have wings.
I cannot give you wings.’

But I wanted his wings.
I felt like some flightless chicken.

Then new events said to me,
‘Don’t move. A sublime generosity is
coming towards you.’

And old love said, ‘Stay with me.’

I said, ‘I will.’

You are the fountain of the sun’s light.
I am a willow shadow on the ground.
You make my raggedness silky.

The soul at dawn is like darkened water
that slowly begins to say Thank you, thank you.

Then at sunset, again, Venus gradually
Changes into the moon and then the whole nightsky.

This comes of smiling back
at your smile.

The chess master says nothing,
other than moving the silent chess piece.

That I am part of the ploys
of this game makes me
amazingly happy.
-Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks

Aliveness is only the beginning! And laughter is one of the great signs of that. I see it as exhilaration really, dancing and spinning in the sheer beauty of joy and laughter. And then comes the madness - the madness of divine irrationality perhaps - a joy that is truly incomprehensible to those who are not in it. Who can truly understand surrender so great, so huge? And in this poem, even dieing is not the end, but another beginning.

What do you think?

I love working on Sundays. You see, I grew up in a religion that revered Sunday as a day of worship and community. A day to rest from the labors of the week. A day to commune with God, to reflect and renew your relationship with the divine. A Sabbath.

My first job - one that I kept for many years - was working in a bakery. Started out cleaning on weeknights, then moved to all the other great stuff that bakers do. Donuts, breads, pastries, cookies, cakes, pies. Up at 3 or 4 or 5 in the morning to have everything out when the store opened. Thanksgiving and Christmas were the busiest times - early mornings and long days. So many pies and rolls! I loved working the Thanksgiving morning and the Christmas Eve shift. For me, it was filled with mystery and magic, preparing the essentials of the holiday feasts when no one else wanted to work. It was an offering to the customers, my boss, my coworkers for me to be there, joyfully producing mountains of baked goods. It was a holy day.

I think that’s why I love working on Sundays. To me, that is what my work is about. I offer a sanctuary of rest, relaxation, communion. A place to contemplate the difficulties in life, to transform them into joy. It is a place of discovery, insight, and change on the level of mind, body and spirit.

I like the thought that I can do that on a holy day, when no one wants to work, and could use a bit of rest.

Happy Sabbath.

Ever found yourself in a situation where you desperately wanted something far out of reach? A better body. An answer from God. Your relationship to mend. A happier life.

You want it so badly that all you can think about is having it. Everything else falls to the side – including your joy – and you live in a state of near panic, depression, anger, hope, and disappointment all the time.

But as good manifesters, we feel we must cling to the thought all the time. To keep the doubts that taint our prayers out of the mix – out of our minds. To make sure we don’t miss the answer. We curse ourselves when we forget to stay focused. And ironically, I think that clinging prevents us from actually finding the solutions we seek.  

This year, when making those resolutions, I propose another option, one much less distracting and much more open. The subtlety is in Attention vs. Intention.

Attention is conscious thought, all the time. It is the thing in the forefront of your mind, and holds the danger of distracting us from the present moment.

Intention is a moment of extreme focus – as much as you can muster – where you put your plea out to the Universe. Perhaps you do this in the morning or evening or the beginning of the year. Perhaps you write it down. Or post it on your wall. Then, let it go. Forget the specifics. Let it drift and sing on the wings of angels all day long. Let your soul decide how to best manifest your desires. Get out of your own way!

This is where Attention comes in. In the midst of surrendering to all of your possibilities, living your beautiful life, watch for the signs. Books and people and events and encounters that answer your prayers of the morning, or from last year, or that time when you were seven and wanted a pony. Anything can happen in that place of openness, and almost always it is unexpected, emerging from sources you wouldn’t possibly have considered.

In other words, stay in the present, focusing on the sheer joy of your existence. Your prayers, after all, were offered this morning. Trust that you have been heard and allow yourself to see the answer!

Then, if you want, the next morning or evening or whenever, bring yourself back to those specific Intentions. Remember and refresh them in your mind. Then offer them up again…

Questions? Feel free to comment or email.

Have a beautiful day.