Joy Is The Only Game in Town

Joy is the operative word. Allow the joy of your life to be the first and foremost feeling you are experiencing.

You might stop a moment and ask where is MY joy? Why do I not feel it?

Maybe you don’t feel it because you don’t really know what it feels like and don’t realize that it’s there waiting for you to acknowledge it. Joy stands behind the curtain waiting to be recognized. Joy is quiet. Joy doesn’t parade itself and ask to be noticed. Joy simply is.

One of the reasons it’s so hard to notice joy is because you’re so busy noticing all the little misfortunes and disagreeable minutiae of your life. Joy waits for you to realize that these things really mean nothing. They’re small stones on the path of life. They’re not boulders blocking your way. They’re not hindrances on your path to joy. But that’s how you view them. A little rock on your path becomes, in your mind, a large obstacle. And while that obstacle is taking your attention, joy waits. And when the next obstacle appears, joy simply smiles and waits some more.

Joy says, I will wait till you are finished with that and can, once again, feel me. Joy says, I will stand off to the side waiting for you to notice that I am here. Joy says that where you are in your life right now is exactly where you have chosen to be – whether you remember choosing it or not. Joy says that if you focus on the obstacles in your life, you notice the obstacles. And if you focus on me, you notice me.

Yes, there is temporary pain in life. We’ve all felt it. But it is temporary – no matter how devastating it feels in the moment – it is temporary. Joy is permanent.

And you ask how do I find this joy? And joy says, you don’t have to find me. I am simply here. All you have to do is to allow your attention to rest on me. I am yours. Joy says, when you see a sunset, when you feel a raindrop, when a gentle breeze touches your face, when you hear a piece of music that sends your heart soaring, I am with you.

Remember how I feel. Then you will know how to find me again.

I am quiet. I am peaceful. I am always available. I bring a slight smile to your face. I might even bring tears to your eyes if you are not used to how I feel. Joy says that in the day to day difficulties of your life, I am always there. Look for me behind the anger. Look for me behind the sadness. Look for me behind the grief. I am still there. I will never fade. The other feelings will but I will not.

When they are gone, I am here. They are temporary. I am permanent.

I don’t look or feel like what you’ve been taught. I am quiet. I am peaceful. I live in your heart and you can feel me when you quiet yourself. I am solid. I am consistent. I am continuous. I am here. I await your return. Your recognition of me enlivens me. And so it is.