The little things... there's nothing bigger, is there?Vanilla Sky
I was walking to my car one day, when my eyes caught a view of the sun shining from behind a tree across the street... softly, quietly radiating through the branches and leaves. I became aware of a feeling: joy.
It was a serene, quiet joy. I was fully present in the stillness of this scene; there was just the tree and the sunlight, and this feeling of fullness. And as I surrendered into this feeling of fullness, joy seemed to saturate my being. I was apparently having a moment.
This experience showed me the stillness that is at the core of everything. And in this stillness, tension unravels and this kind of space exists, where – for me, at least – joy seems to always unfold. Not overwhelming joy; just this pleasant sense of completeness. It is a beautiful feeling.
The Nature of Joy
Joy seems to have a way of unfolding – this is the nature of it. As if it is always present, but not always apparent. In my experience, all it takes is a moment of sincere mindfulness and gratitude to tap into joy. This engages the mind in the immensity of a moment... the beauty of it... the richness of it. When your awareness is fully present in the now – momentarily detached from histories, futures and storylines – a stillness is experienced. This stillness is the true nature of the world around us, and it is at the heart of everything, surprisingly near and easily touched.
You might be noticing that I am intertwining the concepts of joy and stillness. It seems to me that they are almost one in the same. In stillness lives joy; in joy lives stillness.
As you allow joy to unfold itself in the space of a moment, sometimes it disperses as the now moves on, and sometimes it radiates softly throughout your being for awhile. It is a direct communion with pure awareness.
The key here, is that joy and stillness are not objects that can be found or grasped at – they are continually present, within us. We can allow them to unfold into our experience at any time, if we can let go of resistance and surrender into the magnificence of a moment.
Take a slow, deep breath, and put your full conscious awareness in this moment. Feel a sense of gratitude for this moment. Enjoy it for what it is.
This is the simplicity of joy.