Taking Joy in Difficult Times

With the Stay-at-Home and Social Distancing orders still in place where we live the Take Joy Society has not been able to get together since February.  This is indeed a difficult and strange time we are living in, and I know many difficulties have arisen for many people.  Each of us are managing the best we can according to our resources, whether financially, physically, emotionally, and mentally.  As for myself I have used this time to sort out some things that have been bothering me which has led to my rereading a book on my bookshelf.  It came into my hands in 2012 while on Martha's Vineyard, and I read it on the journey home.  But I must not have been "ready" for it yet because it did not impact me then the way it has now.  I am finally able to understand my difficulty in enjoying my life these past few years.  That is why I am sharing it here because it is a great resource for bringing joy into your life right now. 

Below I have written a short summary of the book and include this link to more excerpts I typed up to send to a friend.  This link will take you to the "Books" Tab at the top of this blog.  Because it is helpful to reinforce what one is learning, I've also included links in the "Books" Tab to YouTube material that includes the audio of the book and an interview with the author.  While at YouTube you can find many more interviews and resources.  Because I left out most of his examples, which were lengthy, you may prefer to get a copy of the book for yourself if you find the excerpts not thorough enough to grasp what the author has written.  Your library may have a copy as well.

Chapter 1 excerpts:  Eventually you will see that the real cause of problems is not life itself.  It’s the commotion the mind makes about life that really causes problems.

• When there’s a buildup of nervous, fearful, or desire-based energies inside….That voice talks because you’re not okay inside, and talking releases energy.
• When you’re not particularly bothered by something, it still talks…It is actually narrating the world for you….the narration makes you feel more comfortable with the world around you….makes you feel as though things are more in your control.  You actually feel like you have some relationship with [what you are seeing]…..there are myriad things that you see at any given moment, yet you only narrate a few of them.  The ones you discuss in your mind are the ones that matter to you.  With this subtle form of preprocessing, you manage to  control the experience of reality so that it all fits together inside your mind.  Your consciousness is actually experiencing your mental model of reality, not reality itself….If you can’t get the world the way you like it, you internally verbalize it, judge it, complain about it, and then decide what to do about it.  This makes you feel more empowered….As long as that’s what you want, you will be forced to constantly use your mind to buffer yourself from life, instead of living it.

Can you identify with any of what he's said?  He spends the rest of the book guiding you through the process of how to be a witness of your thoughts so that they can pass through and not get stuck or stuffed.  His mantra is Relax & Release.  He shows us how we are the source of our own unhappiness.  He wants us to live each moment of our lives rather than be preoccupied with the past or the future.  He explains how past disturbances we hang onto wreak havoc in our present lives and cause misery and suffering now. 

As you read or listen you will begin to see how the isolation and threat to our health and well-being we are all experiencing right now is made worse by the past disturbances we never processed and therefore didn't let go of at the time.  In fact, if he were writing this book right now instead of 2007, he would probably say this virus is a gift to all of us as a tool for bringing up all those unresolved issues.  Once you realize why you never forgave that person or why some event closed down your heart, you will be eager to "clean house."  If you start now, you may be ready to start living your new life to its fullest when we're given the all-clear to enter society once again.

.•*¨`*•. ❤️ .•*¨`*•

Take Joy!