Joy, Delight of Being
Bringing the Sweetness of the Spirit to the Surface of Life
When one has been cooped up in a home or cabin for days because of cloudy, gloomy weather, and then one emerges into the bright warm sunlight of a new day, the change is exhilarating. Now imagine if we were to emerge into an even greater place, where our current sun-dappled relatively-happy existence would seem like something cold, soulless, distant, and without meaning. It is the emergence from our current life into the spiritual life. When an American friend of mine who expatriated to India 30 years ago to live in a spiritual community returned to the US, she found the place not only utterly alien but devoid of any spiritual feeling. As she rode the ever-widening highways of the San Francisco Bay Area and toured the region she was raised in, she felt an iciness and un-soulfulness in the atmosphere, lacking richness and sweetness and deep connectedness to a Higher Reality that she felt in the spiritual community of her adopted homeland. And this is one of the urban regions often most associated with happiness and joy in America. Imagine then how she would feel in other locales. We cannot imagine this greater existence, because we only know and breathe in what surrounds us. We feel the atmosphere in our surroundings and believe that is the reality of life. We cannot imagine an entire society rooted in soulfulness, depth, sweetness, richness, and the deepest of sincere values. Some believe that is in fact the reality of things in the rural areas of the world. However, once you punctuate the surface, you see that there often resides an environment of profound ignorance, falsehood, and intolerance. When we go to our churches and temples, we may be moved by the spirit, only to be overwhelmed by the harsh reality that permeates the world that we reenter. If we bring the spirit into life after such experiences, we may be able to infuse our surroundings with a richer power, but that only lasts awhile. How then can we permeate the atmosphere with a deeper consciousness? While we cannot immediately change the society, we can connect to the deepest depths inside ourselves, and carry around that feeling everywhere we go. Then as we look out into the world, we will feel the sweetness there, which really does exist below the surface of things. Except we will experience it on the surface, even as others do not. After a while, others can take to this approach, and bring down the spiritual power to the point that the outer atmosphere is as sweet as it is in the subtle plane below the surface. Then we can begin to create a new type of life on earth. Then wherever we travel across this wide planet, we will not just be happy because of the sunshine or the beautiful mountains and terrain, but because the world around us is suffused by something more substantial, by a quality that cannot be described, even though it can be felt. Then we will know that humanity has taken a great step, for they have brought to the surface the deepest spiritual secrets and feelings of life. Thoughts on True, Inner Happiness (i.e. Joy and Delight of Being) Ordinary happiness comes and goes. It is our favorable reaction to the events of life that come from the outside. Because life is unpredictable, this type of happiness is unstable. True happiness is Joy of Being, which comes from within, unencumbered by the exigencies of life around us. -The happiest of people -- i.e. those who continually experience Joy and Delight of Being -- are those who are self-giving towards others; who literally lose themselves in the concerns, joys and successes of others. -The major cause of unhappiness is seeing life through our ego-consciousness. When we move away from ego and separateness, and connect with others and life, we develop the possibility for true inner happiness. -Ego and self-givingness are two opposites. Ego brings unhappiness or short-term happiness. Self-givingness gives perpetual, deep inner happiness and joy. -The most joyful of people are spirit-oriented individuals, whose orientation is inward, culminating in connection with their True Selves and Soul, creating a sense of Oneness with people around them and the world outside. -The more we connect to the Spirit, to the Divine Reality, the more ecstatic is our experience of life. -As we give to others, Joy springs forth. As we shed our ego and negative propensities, Delight spreads throughout our Being. As we discover our True and higher self, our evolving soul within, Joy comes to us. As we connect to the transcendent spiritual Reality, we experience ultimate joy -- the Delight and Bliss of the Creator, once lost in creation, now rediscovered. Pollyanna's Conscious Happiness Attracts In the course of our day we experience many things. What follows each depends on the attitude we bring to bear. One key reaction to the unfolding of our day is whether we see things in a positive light or from a darker perspective. When we react cheerfully and happily, not only do we feel more energized and uplifted, but we attract positive conditions from life. In the story of Pollyanna, a charming young girl very consciously has this positive view of life. Moreover, she aggressively yet sweetly advocates others to practice it as well. In fact, she continually asks them to play the "gladness game;" i.e. to consciously see each moment in a positive light. Though they are resistant at first, they come around and see the wisdom in the little girl's approach, and as a result each of their lives turns around. Good fortune follows their efforts. As a result, the people of the town are deeply grateful to Pollyanna for showing them a better way to live their lives. In essence, she has attracted goodness and happiness from every quarter. Comment: I am tempted to say she is a child guru, and therefore one could devote one's self to her "teachings." In essence, she is at war with pessimism in the world, and she asks all to follow. Reader: As a total aside, the author of Pollyanna, Eleanor H. Porter, is from Littleton, NH, which is where I frequently do my grocery shopping (I go between North Conway and Littleton since I live in between both). Perhaps it is a coincidence (yup...right!), but Littleton - which honors the book and author and has a bronze Pollyanna statue - is well known for its very courteous driving on its Main Street. I have never been able to figure it out, but I have never been in a town where nearly everyone "gives way" and allows cars to easily enter traffic from side streets, people wave and smile while crossing the street, and more. John and I always marvel at how "good" it just "feels" to be able to participate in such an upbeat way of helping others - even when it's just a simple act of letting people get into traffic. Perhaps that "gladness" from the literature has somehow rubbed off on the people in town. Not that the town isn't without its issues, but it really is interesting that no other town I've ever been in has that particular vibe... Response: Thank you Kathy for sharing your fascinating connection with the story. We see that a simple but profound idea in the author's mind has not only touched many people, but continues to spread throughout the (real) town and around the world. At the end of the story of Pollyanna there is a shine on all the faces of those who had been touched by her, and they are now able to further spread that positive attitude, appreciation and goodness to others. What a response to Pollyanna's conscious decision to view things from the bright side of life. |