Finding Joy upon a rocky shore

How do we find true Joy in a world filled with heartache, stress, demands & challenges. How do we find time to STOP..... BE STILL & LISTEN ... DRINKING in the Sounds, The Smells, The warmth of the Radiant Sun or indeed the feel of your lovers skin against yours... or the sparkle of light in your child's eye. How do we learn to stop & take the time to simply "be' immersed in 'being present' How do we stop the incessant thoughts about money, security, healthy, life, from going round & round in our already crowded heads. In an essence how to we learn to simply accept life.... & embrace all that is.... thus enabling our higher conscious self to resume its position as the captain of this ship we call life?

Well its a complex question... I could say well the answer is complicated... complex & highly relative. But in my honest opinion the answer is simple... the answer is profound & the answer has been proven to be right...time & time again. I ask you to check your thinking as you read this... are you following me? can you see where this is heading? or does your internal dialogue & dissident disagree with me...saying that life is meant to be difficult, life is meant to be work, life is meant to be filled with stress & heartbreak, life is meant to be filled with moments of monotony? With only the fleeting moment of joy?

Life is indeed like a rocky beach.... I could choose to look at the rocks & become annoyed, frustrated that they are not soft, smooth white sand. Or I can choose to accept that the beach is filled with stones... interesting stones... By the simple act of acceptance I have already moved into a more confident frame of mind. I have given up on having 'unrealistic expectations' & accepted the hand of cards I have been dealt with. What i choose to do with those cards is solely my decision. I could choose to say I no longer wish to walk along this beach, as the stones make me trip and fall. Or indeed i could say, well these shoes I am wearing are really not meant for such a rocky path... I'll take my shoes off & walk intuitively along these stones... allowing each stone to fit smoothly under foot. After a while, I stop & start to appreciate the different textures, the patterns, the size, the feel ...the experience of these stones. They are now what I know.... take me to a white sandy beach... and the gritty sand would feel uncomfortable & foreign under foot.

The long long winded answer to my question is "Acceptance" of your situation...moving beyond resistance. Listening to yourself & starting to see how you process things & how your thoughts can control your behaviour. How easy it is to give into fear & stress when we loose sight of the 'present' of 'being in the now' and focusing long term.

Why do I feel joy? I feel joy because I understand that I am more then my thoughts. I understand I have a higher consciousness... I understand that I have incredible blessings beyond compare. i understand by focusing on 'being present' my body & mind are aware... my senses alive & I am in awe of all that is around me. I feel the sun upon my face. I feel the breeze upon my skin. I see the trees dance in the breeze. i see the clouds dance across the sky. i feel the rain as it falls to water the earth. I even dance out in the rain...my face up to the sky & stick my tongue out like a child. I live in the presence. There really is no option, to loose the sense of joy from now & focus on the stress & possible pain of tomorrow fills me with dread. My spirit sags & my heart becomes heavy. I am no longer a beautifully strong person embracing the light.... I am simply a mother consumed by fright.