Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the experience of joy. And I realized something this morning that I had not fully realized before…
Joy is a present moment experience
The only way that I experience joy is when I am totally present in the moment, sensing, feeling, being with whatever is happening. Things like wonder and appreciation stem from present moment awareness as well. On a walk in my neighborhood last week I was filled with a sense of joy and well-being that had nothing to do with events of my life. Instead the joy and well-being were rooted in the present moment.
We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat our meals in a way that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is, for us to be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.
— Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step
Feeling the warm (but not too warm) breeze on my arms and legs as I walked, smelling the sweet green scent of basswood trees in bloom, seeing the green trees and plants all around me, feeling my body move with ease—all of this contributed to my sense of joy as I walked. So long as I kept my attention on what I was sensing and feeling in the moment, my experience was one of joy and peace.
Have you paid attention lately to how and when you experience joy? Do you notice that being fully present contributes to your sense of joy and gratitude?
May you walk in beauty.
A recent “doodle” water-color and tea painting, and gold and white ink doodles
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