The Fruit of Joy

“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”― Henri J.M. Nouwen

“May every experience in life be a door that opens your heart, expands your understanding, and leads you to freedom. If you are weary, may you be aroused by passion and purpose. If you are blameful and bitter, may you be sweetened by hope and humor.” ― Elizabeth Lesser, Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow

Make stillness a part of your daily journey.
Witness and savor.
Slow and pause.
Allow still points through the day.
To awaken.
To be in awe.
Inquiry, attunement, flow.
The rhythm and dance that resides beneath busy, noise and chaos.
The utility and necessity of beauty, color, light.
Not luxuries but necessities.
Not in far off places.
Just beneath, above, around and within you.
Right now.
Go there and join yourself for a bit with wonder and delight.
The fruit of joy.

“Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.” – Saint Augustine