In most cases, the turgid frothy nature of the typical postmodern existence tends to rob us all of the joy that should be inherent in it. There are many ways this happens. In most cases it is an imperceptibly slow death by a million paper cuts process. Of course the brutal to and fro of running from this fire to the next tends to do this also.
However it happens is for the most part without relevance. The key thing is that it happens. We end up trudging along just having the 'time to make the donuts' experience in things that should provide us with great joy. We end up not seeing the vibrant colors in our lives. We end up moving about our lives without actually inhabiting it.
I have to admit that I have suffered from this malady of late. The convergence of life, work, emergencies of the moment, and other items, left me feeling down. I found myself struggling to see the good in the moment. I was expecting in each moment for the next shoe to drop, and things in that context going from bad to worse. Now some of that expectation is based on that is what I had been experiencing and some of it was based on just the daily grind wearing me out.
I am not sure how long I resided in this state. It was awhile. I suppose it had been a fair amount of time, months not weeks. I was frustrated in the midst of all of it. My temper was short. My patience was virtually nonexistent. I knew I was in an state that needed to change, I just did not know how.
The how of the change came in the course of a 'good weekend'. I had a weekend that was amazing on all levels. It was a time in which everything I touched went well. I had success in all things that usually were frustrating as heck. In each of the moments over the course of the weekend I found myself in a much better state over all.
Some of this could be described as a mood elevation. Some of it was a good series of events. Some of it was just being contact with much more positive things. Mostly it was about a divine experience that I did not even know was happening at the moment. The outlook I had going into the weekend had become a set of scales over my eyes preventing me from seeing the truth of my situation.
I can only say that God intervened somehow, and the scales of this outlook were ripped from my eyes. I began to see my world for what it was. I began to see that value in the moment, and not just the problems. I was able to more accurately appreciate my placement and the the things residing in that placement.
In short, the weekend involved a rapid fire series of moments in which I was reminded of just what is in my life. I was able to reconnect with the good in my life. I was able to recover the joy in my immediate context. There is a lot good about my life. There is a lot of positive things going on in my life. I had forgot about all of it. It took being reminded of it, to change my outlook.
Reminders are a good thing. Having a weekend full of them doesn't happen often, but when it does it is powerful. When it comes in like a torrent of good washing out all the negativity, it is amazing. In my moment in particular, I was unable to fully articulate it. On some level, I found myself without words, which is a rare thing.
The key I have found is not to focus on the problems to the exclusion of the good. There are reasons we endure the less than positive elements of our lives. Those reasons are there, we just have to remember them. We have to on a daily basis stay in connection to the good. The negative must be faced clearly, but not to the place that we assume that is all that exists.
The end of this is simple, remember the joy that brought you to this place. Remember the why that you brought you to this moment. It goes without saying that dwelling in the land of joy is hard, but it is better than the alternative.
However it happens is for the most part without relevance. The key thing is that it happens. We end up trudging along just having the 'time to make the donuts' experience in things that should provide us with great joy. We end up not seeing the vibrant colors in our lives. We end up moving about our lives without actually inhabiting it.
I have to admit that I have suffered from this malady of late. The convergence of life, work, emergencies of the moment, and other items, left me feeling down. I found myself struggling to see the good in the moment. I was expecting in each moment for the next shoe to drop, and things in that context going from bad to worse. Now some of that expectation is based on that is what I had been experiencing and some of it was based on just the daily grind wearing me out.
I am not sure how long I resided in this state. It was awhile. I suppose it had been a fair amount of time, months not weeks. I was frustrated in the midst of all of it. My temper was short. My patience was virtually nonexistent. I knew I was in an state that needed to change, I just did not know how.
The how of the change came in the course of a 'good weekend'. I had a weekend that was amazing on all levels. It was a time in which everything I touched went well. I had success in all things that usually were frustrating as heck. In each of the moments over the course of the weekend I found myself in a much better state over all.
Some of this could be described as a mood elevation. Some of it was a good series of events. Some of it was just being contact with much more positive things. Mostly it was about a divine experience that I did not even know was happening at the moment. The outlook I had going into the weekend had become a set of scales over my eyes preventing me from seeing the truth of my situation.
I can only say that God intervened somehow, and the scales of this outlook were ripped from my eyes. I began to see my world for what it was. I began to see that value in the moment, and not just the problems. I was able to more accurately appreciate my placement and the the things residing in that placement.
In short, the weekend involved a rapid fire series of moments in which I was reminded of just what is in my life. I was able to reconnect with the good in my life. I was able to recover the joy in my immediate context. There is a lot good about my life. There is a lot of positive things going on in my life. I had forgot about all of it. It took being reminded of it, to change my outlook.
Reminders are a good thing. Having a weekend full of them doesn't happen often, but when it does it is powerful. When it comes in like a torrent of good washing out all the negativity, it is amazing. In my moment in particular, I was unable to fully articulate it. On some level, I found myself without words, which is a rare thing.
The key I have found is not to focus on the problems to the exclusion of the good. There are reasons we endure the less than positive elements of our lives. Those reasons are there, we just have to remember them. We have to on a daily basis stay in connection to the good. The negative must be faced clearly, but not to the place that we assume that is all that exists.
The end of this is simple, remember the joy that brought you to this place. Remember the why that you brought you to this moment. It goes without saying that dwelling in the land of joy is hard, but it is better than the alternative.
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