I will no longer give myself to anything that does not cause me joy. I choose joy above all else, and that is more than enough. My heart is open and alert, ready to encircle whatever or whoever presents. That act of embracing will give me the greatest joy.
I have been taught this simple act of joy by my garden. My garden asks only that I give it gestures of care and affection, not that I labor and work. I try in return not to work in my garden, but only do gardening to the extent that it gives me pleasure and joy. I stop my efforts in my garden when I no longer have the stamina or interest to generate joy.
I am not sure what has changed, my garden or me. I know that we have come to an understanding and acceptance that mutual pleasure is most important in how we come together.
The same is true of people. I only allow myself to do what gives me joy. I try to avoid interaction that is a burden and only seek connections that produce joy. Hopefully, the joy that results is mutual.
This has become my habit only because of the change in me. My heart has found a more joy-filled way to welcome engagement. Even encounter with people, plants and rocks is becoming a moment of open embrace. I choose the path of joy and it willingly finds me. I embrace who and what presents, and I am embraced.
It is a relatively simple way to live, even though it has taken me many years to find it. All I need to do is observe who or what is before me. When I relax and unfold the portals of my heart, so does the world before me. Men and women become my brothers and sisters, trees become my welcome companions, rocks become the supporting elements of my stalwart world . We meet in an explosion of joy.
Even what might seem unpleasant or a burden slowly unfolds to be a new source of joy. There is some element of humor and surprise in things that would otherwise disturb. There are times I can find that opening into the presence of the unpleasant and even the absurd becomes a miracle of joy.
Perhaps everything is best experienced as ambiguous, uncertain and unpredictable. For me, that means that all things, everyone, has an element that can produce joy. If allowed to find it, my heart will naturally embrace that element of joy.