choosing joy

an inspirational blog that i read regularly shared this outlook last week and i felt compelled to share it forward.the following excerpt is from vietnamese zen master thich nhat hanh and his book, peace Is every step: the path of mindfulness in everyday life.

We often ask, “What’s wrong?” Doing so, we invite painful seeds of sorrow to come up and manifest. We feel suffering, anger, and depression, and produce more such seeds. We would be much happier if we tried to stay in touch with the healthy, joyful seeds inside of us and around us. We should learn to ask, “What’s not wrong?” and be in touch with that. There are so many elements in the world and within our bodies, feelings, perceptions, and consciousness that are wholesome, refreshing, and healing. If we block ourselves, if we stay in the prison of our sorrow, we will not be in touch with these healing elements.

Life is filled with many wonders, like the blue sky, the sunshine, the eyes of a baby. Our breathing, for example, can be very enjoyable. I enjoy breathing every day. But many people appreciate the joy of breathing only when they have asthma or a stuffed-up nose. We don’t need to wait until we asthma to enjoy our breathing. Awareness of the precious elements of happiness is itself the practice of right mindfulness. Elements like these are within us and all around us. In each second of our lives we can enjoy them…

choose joy.

liz

Comments

[How to Relieve Stress]

Hi Liz,

Love your mantra "choose joy". It's so much better than the alternative isn't it? Our perspective on life and what we focus on really affect how our life turns out and our enjoyment of it.

So why would anyone choose sadness or anger as their focus in life? beats me.

We are in control of what we focus on and so direct our lives in a huge way. I choose joy!

Thanks,
Athena