Focus on the Joy ~ Anne McCormack

In meditation today, I asked for insight as to what is happening with my business and the work I do Monday to Friday to pay the bills. I was told, “You know you are embarking on change. Just focus on the joy.”

How often do we focus on the mystery of the unknown and not the pleasure of the given moment? I feel like I have been in a bit of a holding pattern lately. There is an intense feeling that change is about to happen in some form. It has been driving me crackers not knowing exactly how it’s all going to manifest. How the heck is a girl supposed to plan when she doesn’t know what the bloody hell she is planning for?

The strange thing (which isn’t so strange really) is I seek joy in my life. I desire true happiness, peace and contentment. My own guidance is trying to alert my attention that whilst joy, peace and contentment lay ahead of me in my future, they are also in my present. I already experience the very thing I am seeking. Joy is an emotion that bubbles from deep within you when you are totally in the moment and not worrying about the past nor the future. You are totally fixated on the moment. Isn’t it interesting that we tend to search outward for joy, when it is already nestled deep within us.

Joy is in the Simple Pleasures

Today I experienced joy when I found the season’s first tulip in my garden. I took the time to really look at its beauty and delicate structure. I experienced it again today when I played tug-of-war with the dog. Joy is witnessing the beauty this world has to offer, and taking the time to enjoy that moment. Too often we dismiss these experiences like they don’t matter.

When we acknowledge the joy within our daily life, the opportunities to experience the feeling seem to multiply.

The journey of life is one of joyful self-discovery. This includes the process of developing my business. I don’t need to race to the finish line to experience joy and success. Be playful and try something new without judgement of the outcome.

When something is hurtful and full of sorrow, these feelings play a big part in leading us back to joy. How? Because we appreciate the beauty in our lives that much more. We become thankful for it. When we express gratitude readily and see the blessings even when there is pain, we attract even more into our experience as we see opportunities in the moment at every turn. It is like a light has been switched on within our minds. It is a magical thing about being a human being!

What will it take for us all to slow down and appreciate those moments in a heartfelt manner without dismissing them as being unimportant anecdotes in day? What will it take for us to perceive our ‘experiments’ as a journey rather than a failure if things don’t pan out how we’d like?

Anne McCormack is author of the book, Lovitude: Trying To Calm The Monkey Mind and the award-winning, Peacock Dreaming: The Wisdom Of Flowers.