Causeless Joy
by Leslie Sann
Joy is not the absence of suffering but the presence of God. ~ Unknown
Do me a favor. Look at your left hand, just take a moment and move your eyes from the screen and bring your attention to your left hand for a few seconds.
Thanks. I’ll be referring back to this exercise a little later.
Lately I have been choosing to pay attention to when I am feeling joy for no reason. Causeless joy. Just the other day I heard a loud startling noise and I began to laugh and laugh and laugh. It felt great to be laughing for no reason at all.
What I am noticing is joy is always present. Joy isn’t the absence of disturbance, it is the awareness of the presence of my own true heart, my essence, what I call the Magnificent Mystery, regardless of circumstances.
Circumstances constantly change. The only thing in life that is constant is change. Yet there is a changeless state that is always present, that which doesn’t come and doesn’t go, and is a resource to each of us.
Changing circumstances are similar to an ocean surface. Constantly moving. If we pay attention to life only at the surface of experience we find ourselves bouncing around like a buoy floating on a choppy ocean, mostly in disturbance. Instead the anchor of the buoy is deeply rooted into the bottom of the ocean, in stillness.
In any moment you could drop your awareness and attend to the stillness at the depth of you. You could do it now if you wish. You can take the attention you gave to your left hand earlier and direct it to the still place inside of you. Some find closing their eyes helpful. Give yourself time to locate the stillness, the calm, the quiet within. Pay attention to it and discover what happens. What do you notice?
For me I find a space that is expanded, clear and free. I also discover the joy that is just because I am. It isn’t something learned, it isn’t something created, it is something you turn your attention to and allow to come into awareness. It is always there, it is the truth of who we are — for our essential energy is Joy.
Can you feel it? If not, pay attention until you do. It’s a gift you give to yourself that has value beyond measure.
Yours from Planet Joy
