There is No Way to Joy - Joy is the Way

There is No Way to Joy - Joy is the Way

by Linda Heron Wind

We look for joy in many places - in people, things, places, food, songs, circumstances, jobs, nature, or _______ (you fill in the blank). It often seems like joy arrives only to mysteriously disappear again. How many times have you thought about your visions or dreams and the joy that they would bring if they manifested? Yet what makes you think that if you cannot now access joy, it would magically be yours to possess if your dreams came true? Have you ever gotten what you wanted in the past? How long did joy stay with you then?

The error in our belief and perhaps in our perception is that, rather than coming from outer experience, joy arises as an inner state and, as such, is created by inner choices not outer manifestations. There is a considerable body of scientific evidence now that happiness is not related to outer circumstances but correlates instead with a deep sense of inner connection. We can seek joy as a reaction to certain outer conditions but can only own joy by finding it within ourselves.

Likewise all spiritual teachings tell us that joy is not the result of having the right kind of illusion around you, but instead it comes from the quality of inner life you have cultivated from the seeds of joy within you. Only the dazzling stories that dance around us as illusion tell us to look outside to find joy. And even though we know they are just stories, they still seduce us to follow them on the treasure hunt for joy. Such is the nature of human experience in this physical world!

It is not so much a matter of whether we will be drawn into the flights of fantasy our minds so love, all of us are fooled at times. It is more important to be able to get back home quickly and renew our connection with the way of joy that lives within. It is a way of being that flows from the heart not the mind. It lives in the present not the past or future. It is unconditional joy now, not just when the conditions of our dreams are fulfilled.

So what does the way of joy look like when practiced? It is living from behind the eyes, so that joy can be maintained even in the face of a convincing illusion of destruction and suffering. The saying, "There is more than meets the eye," is an important one to remember. We can be compassionate and loving with those who are suffering and still be joyful, for we know there are grander cycles operating than we can imagine. Do birds sing only when the sun shines? Each moment is precious, and each deserves our joyful presence.

A joyful heart can honor each emotion that arises within us and each change in the illusion that surprises us. It responds to good fortune and adversity alike, since both are impermanent, coming and going with the cycles of creation and destruction. Joy is like a spring that flows from the depths of our hearts. The source of this spring is the One Heart and, if we allow its waters to flow through us, it will quench the thirst of the world.

Bubbling up from
Its deep source within my heart
Joy quenches my thirst

Endless spring of joy
Flow through me into the world
Your life-giving presence

If you have comments on these articles or ideas for future topics, call Linda Heron Wind at (585) 924-5620 or send e-mail to LHWind@aol.com.

Page last modified January 25, 2005 by RMC