Joy – Living and Learning with a Light Heart
Joy – living and learning with a light heart – is the sixth Grace in our Simple Abundance journey. We’ve begun to practice Gratitude, which leads us to Simplicity, turning our minds to Order and Harmony; we search for and create Beauty, guiding us to Joy.
DEEP POWER
Maybe you’re a bit like me and Joy can feel more like a fleeting emotion rather than a place to make camp. The world tells us that life is too hard and overwhelming for us to take up residence with Joy. We have things to do, bills to pay, deadlines to meet. Life can be heavy. Who has time to live in the present and actually enjoy it, especially with a light heart? So, we suck it up, put on a happy face and move on. Well, maybe there’s a better way.
Walk with me for a bit. This is worth exploring. We’re not searching for happiness; we’re cultivating Joy; something deeper, something richer, something worth cultivating. This shift in our mindset is a game-changer. This is an intentional journey, not a striving. This is the culmination of all the work we’ve been pursuing. Joy – living and learning with a light heart; the truest gift.
Missing out
How many times have we missed out on the joy life offers because we were convinced the only way to learn was through struggle and suffering? That hustle mindset, where we’ve been conditioned to think that nothing comes without grinding hard work and sacrifices? Yeah, that’s the one I’m talking about. Let’s trade that for Joy and alignment. Joy requires us to live in the present and trust the flow of Life and the goodness of the Holy Spirit. What if we choose to expect the best instead of the worst? What if we look for the good and holy instead of the bad and unholy; choosing to believe not only in the goodness of the Holy Spirit, but also in the goodness that same Holy Spirit has placed inside each of us?
Child’s Play
Remember the song, “I’ve got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart”? You know the one…
Don’t we all want a childlike faith and pure joy? This is not some Pollyanna ideal. I’m not suggesting we stick our heads in the sand and not pay attention to the world around us. Instead, we can recognize the evil that exists. Then choose to put our energy towards the good. Acknowledge the dark, while we wholeheartedly embrace the Light. Claim this Light. Share this Light.
Live from a place of love and light instead of living for it. Live and learn with a light heart, trusting that the very Creator of the universe loves you and only wants the very best for you. Decide today that life happens for you, not to you. Accept the blessings, the gifts, the joys that surround us daily; the ones waiting patiently for us to simply claim with a light heart. Express Gratitude, embrace Simplicity, create Order, invite Harmony, bestow Beauty, and live in Joy.
a cyclical path
Much like a spiritual labyrinth, for our journey there is only one way in and one way out, each rotation circling back on itself. Gratitude, Simplicity, Order, Harmony, and Beauty all lead us to Joy – living and learning with a light heart. When we live and learn with Joy, we are brought back to Gratitude, circling each time on a deeper level. Deeper Joy begets deeper Gratitude setting our path to even deeper Joy. When we choose to live and learn using this path, we begin to live in alignment with Creation and our Creator. All of life is cyclical; the moon, the seasons, even us. This is the path of Simple Abundance laid out by Sarah Ban Breathnach. This is the path to Cultivate Extraordinary.
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