Advent Series #16
It is now afternoon, and the sun is shining. The temperature outside is warming, and a walk on the river is calling. But first, I pause, taking the time to consciously connect with my Creator, and with you. On this 16th day of Advent, we are called to celebrate and contemplate the inherent quality of Joy. I pray that each of us, and our friends, families, and neighbors, know and experience the meaning of true Joy today.
I would like to introduce you to a fantastic book, in hopes that it may serve you in finding and living from an unending state of Joy. The title of the book is The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, and it is the accounting of a five-day birthday celebration shared by two of the most enlightened spiritual masters of our time: His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, with Douglas Abrams as the attending co-writer. I would like to offer just enough to tempt you to join our Book Club, facilitated by Michael Bordeaux, beginning on January 5th, 2021. He will be leading the group through this remarkable and joy-filled book, encouraging lively discussion, and introducing practices to increase the experience of Joy in our lives.
In the introduction of the book, entitled Invitation to Joy, the teachers speak as one voice, suggesting that
No dark future determines our future. We do. Each day and each moment, we are able to create and re-create our lives and the very quality of human life on the planet. This is the power we wield. Lasting happiness cannot be found in pursuit of any goal or achievement. It does not reside in fortune or fame. It resides only in the human mind and heart, and it is here that we hope you will find it.
The lasting happiness that is being spoken of is the Joy that runs as the undercurrent of our beingness. It is more than an attitude, although finding and maintaining Joy requires that our attitude remains hopeful, optimistic. It asks that we maintain an expectation of Good. The Archbishop said during the week that “Joy…is much bigger than happiness. While happiness is often seen as being dependent on external circumstances, joy is not.” Joy is our inherent birthright. We are wired for Joy. Have you ever watched a very young child at play, or listened to a baby laugh? Assuming that our basic needs are met, Joy, true contentment, is our natural state from day one. It is inextricably woven into the fabric of Life and is available to us in every moment. Joy is what “animates our lives and what ultimately leads to a life of satisfaction and meaning.”
As I turn to Chapter One, the opening line offers a sense of comfort and reassurance as we move through this challenging period of time. Each of us has had struggled in the past ten months. We have felt the fear and uncertainty that world conditions have sparked, and perhaps felt that we are not up to navigating through these uncharted waters. “We are fragile creatures, and it is from this weakness, not despite it, that we discover the possibility of true joy,” the Archbishop said…
Life is filled with challenges and adversity…Fear is inevitable, as is pain and eventually death…Discovering more joy does not, I’m sorry to say…save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak. In fact, we may cry more easily, but we will laugh more easily, too. Perhaps we are just more alive. Yet as we discover more joy, we can face suffering in a way that ennobles rather than embitters. We have hardship without becoming hard. We have heartbreak without being broken.
We can face suffering in a way that ennobles rather than embitters. We have hardship without becoming hard. We have heartbreak without being broken. Such wise and profound words. We are always at choice between allowing our circumstances to buoy us up, as we seek the blessings in every challenge, or to drown us in our own despair. Emotions come and go, accompanying the experiences of our lives. This is the human condition. But we are wise to allow our feelings to ebb and flow closer to the surface of our being, much like the waves of the ocean…even allowing them to carry us for a time. Until finally, we dive down into the depths where our Joy resides and cannot be disturbed. We find that the very act of diving deep creates a passageway through which Joy will once again surface.
In closing, I offer this question, and response, from the Dalai Lama:
What is the purpose of life? After much consideration, I believe that the purpose of life if to find happiness…The ultimate source of happiness is within us. Not money, not power, not status…Outward attainment will not bring real inner joyfulness. We must look inside.
Do you agree? Is there anything more important than finding our Joy and living from it? I am so grateful to have people in my life who are interested in sharing this journey of awakening, friends with whom I can dive deep and share the treasures to be found there. I am blessed to have those with whom I can sort the trash that inevitably shows up when I go diving. And I am filled with gratitude for the many Spiritual Masters that guide my way.
And from this amazing book, I offer you a Practice from the chapter entitled Developing Mental Immunity. Morning Intention Setting is something that both the Dalai Lama and the Archbishop engage in. Here is an abbreviated process, in case it is helpful:
- Sit comfortably, either on a chair with the soles of your feet on the ground or cross-legged.
- Close your eyes and take several long breaths through your nose.
- Now ask yourself: “What is my heart’s desire: What do I wish for myself, for my loved ones, and for the world?”
- State your intention for the day. Begin with, “Today, may I be…”, or “Today, may I give…”, or “Today, may all beings be…” You get the idea.
It is my prayer that this has been uplifting, moving you toward late afternoon with a sense of lightness and optimism. And it is my hope that it has piqued your interest so that you might join us via Zoom, or whatever way is safe and appropriate by January 5th, for our Book of Joy Book Club. In the meantime, may you find your Joy bubbling up more and more as you give it your loving attention and sacred intention.
Know that today and always, I am here to support you.
Know that today and always, you are stronger and wiser than you know.
May we each live from our deep and abiding Joy.
May we be well…stay in touch…know our unity…and thrive!
And…may we know the Absolute Beauty and Wonder of this Grace-filled, once-in-a lifetime day, as Infinite Intelligence continues to pour Its blessings upon our world.
