I am joy in expression

Joy

I am joy in expression

There is no need to ever wait for joy. My joy does not depend on reaching or achieving certain goals. I don't have to graduate from college to feel joy, nor do I need to be married to feel joy. I needn't postpone my joy until I've retired or reached a certain level of success. Joy is a state of mind, arising from realization and gratitude, accessible to me at all times.

I focus on the joy that underlies my life each day. When I awake, I feel joy. Throughout my day, I give thanks for the people who share my journey. At the end of the day, I am grateful for each experience. I reflect on the blessings in my life and feel joy welling up within me. I never wait for joy. I choose joy in this very moment.

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy.--James 1:2


This is the blessing that I got from the electronic version of Daily Word today. It is a little inspiration that shows up in my mail box every day. I usually don't see it until evening, but I always get a little boost from it.

Also, since Daily Word has been around for about 120 years, it is really interesting, and perhaps a little comforting, to see the continuity. I think of all the folks over the years who got the little monthly magazine full of thoughts for the day, each with an affirmation and a scripture quote (some more relevant than others, but hey...), often a story of success from someone who has learned to activate affirmative prayer in their life, and in recent years, a couple of letters from people who have asked for prayer support. All those people saying the same affirmation each day, what an incredible force for good!

I mentioned the people who ask for prayer support, and it is also a reassurance to me that for all that time, there has been a group of people praying in shifts for whomever asks. They take requests by letter, phone or email, and are always willing to help turn problems over to Spirit.

Several of my friends have great stories from their student days, when they volunteered to take shifts in the prayer room. (And isn't it another amazing thing that there are always enough volunteers available?) It seems one of the most common themes in the stories is that you often get calls or letters to answer that contain the thing you most need to work on in your own life. So, if you are having relationship issues, you are likely to be the one who gets the calls from folks who are also experienceing problems with their relationships and looking for assitance.
I have always thought it would be very difficult to pray with people in person or on the phone, out loud. My friend Richard tells a story about that - it seems that the prayer room has a "helps" book for each volunteer, with a card on each subject with prayer prompts to get past rough spots. He got a call one night, a real serious, scary thing going on in someone's life right then, and there was no card for that particular crisis! He claims that in his panic to get the right words and "save the day", he went completly blank, a real brain freeze. The next thing he knew was hearing someone praying with the caller, perfectly saying all of the right words, then he realized that it was him. Somehow his brain freeze allowed his essential self to be there, even when he wasn't concious of it, or perhaps, because he wasn't concious of it.

Which then leads me to ... letting go and letting God (or Spirit or Goddess or whomever entity designation fits) means being willing to be in/act on the unconcious?

This is very difficult for me, all intellect, planning, orderly processes go out the window and the intuitive becomes the governor. Scary stuff for a recovering Anglican. What could happen if we were essentially and honestly the divine selves that we carry within us? What if we were truely expressions of Joy?

The possibility boggles my mind.