Create the Joy in the Unalome of Your Life
Cling to Joy: Audacious and unbridled joy, that looks for light in everything, even in your waiting - Morgan Harper Nichols
There is a difference between happiness & joy.
Happiness is a fleeting emotion that comes as a high and can at times dissipate a quickly as it comes.
Many of us are hungry to "be happy" as a constant, chasing happiness in objects, people, etc. but it is not sustainable as it dissolves with the ever changing circumstances in our lives.
But Joy - Joy is the silver lining in every moment. It is the constant and it is in you.
It is gladness despite the circumstances in your life, and it needs to be chosen.
The symbol above is called a unalome and it is a Hindu symbol for the human journey to enlightenment. The unalome begins uncoiling from the center, at birth, and as you begin to become more conscious of your surroundings and self over time, it begins to unwind. On the journey of our human experience there are twists that sometimes completely pull you off "the path". Twists are a firm reminder the path isn't always straight, usually it is comprised of lessons and teachings calling on us to reflect, observe, have faith, trust, and unwind - yet again.
How much we suffer, or the joy we experience is fully up to us as we go through circumstances. It is up to us as individuals to learn to take deep breaths, trust, go deeper and to look for joy - to decide how we want to experience the twists in our lives.
I am currently experiencing a plot twist in my own life with the recent death of my grandfather, and the additional uncertainties that life usually delivers all at once in waves, but it is up to me to slow down and find the silver lining. It is up to me to choose to be grateful for a blue sky on a sunny day, and the nourishing rain drops of a dreary day. Thus, I am choosing to embark and commit to a 100 day art challenge, to share a snippet of what brings me joy as I breath through the twisted side chairs of my life. ( A twisted side chair is a yoga pose - google it - do it and breath to get through life’s twists).
Try to think about where the joy in your life is... Is it dependent on a person? A career? Outside yourself? Is it tied to an outcome? Is it tied to something that can be rattled/temporary? Or is it in a passion? In yourself? In a faith? I call on you to create the joy in your life and choose joy!
If you don’t know where to start, start small and think there are people less fortunate than yourself that suffer daily with challenging circumstances, yet they are still able to find the joy in life by maintaining the beauty of their child like wonder at the most basic level. For example, taking in the warmth of the sun on their skin, or the cool embrace of an afternoon breeze with the burst of a blood orange sunset sky with appreciation and grace. View every situation from the eyes of the child within and find the silvering in your unalome and start there.
Find the joy in the unalome of your life!