Awakening Joy

I’ve been reading the book “The places that scare you” by Pema Chödrön. It is a very slow read for me – not because the book is uninteresting but because the book is full of soul searching content.

Recently I started to read the chapter on “Finding the ability to rejoice” and it struck me that I don’t celebrate the miracle of ordinary little things. In the book, Pema encourages the reader to be connected with the moment and pay attention to the details of ordinary life. She state that by taking care of ordinary things like our clothes, pots even our teeth we rejoice in them , “When we extend attention and appreciation toward our environment and other people, our experience of joy gets even better”. She further explains that “Every time we drop our complaints and allow every day good fortune to inspire us, we enter the warrior’s world…Everything we see, hear, taste and smell has the power to strengthen and uplift us”.

Now these days I stop to let moments sink in! I open my back door to hang clothes on the line outside and in that moment I pause to take in the cool breeze, some flowers in the yard even the cooing of the mourning dove. It leads to thankfulness for bigger things like the quiet safety of my community or access to fresh air and modern convenience.

I understand what the author means when she states that it is easy to miss our own good fortune; often happiness comes in ways we don’t even notice. Best of all, this practice is helping me to overcome the desire to complain or focus on negative things.

So my encouragement to you is simply this – try pausing in your day to appreciate your little ordinary gifts and moments. Awaken a spirit to find joy and allow our everyday good fortune to inspire us.