The 1st time I quoted the Daily OM at Small Reflections, I had serious questions about the message. Today, however, I'm impressed with the message from yesterday (that I discovered and read a day late this morning) on Miracles and "Joy" ... both subjects near and dear to my heart and way of being in the world these days. Lest you missed them, I share the following here.
(from January 15, 2008)
Miracles In Every Day
Joy Always
It is the everyday aspects of our lives that bring us the most joy, even if at first it may seem natural to expect our feelings of happiness to come from the larger events in our lives. By noticing how small things can fill our days with delight, we are more likely to experience the wonder of living. Once we take the time to look around and witness the beauty, kindness, and laughter that envelop us, what may seem like the ordinariness of the everyday becomes filled with the extraordinary detail of each individual moment. If we bring this sense of awareness to our lives for even a few minutes each day, we will begin to see how just blessed we truly are. What do you think? In light of my recent posts about Everyday Kindness, I'd love to know your response to this Daily OM message. I've long been a student of A COURSE IN MIRACLES since I discovered the work originally in 1989. Back then the material wasn't commonly available and I searched unsuccessfully for months before ordering the material online, but more recently I've seen the work for sale at Costco ... so it must be more "mainstream" today.
Beholding the joy that surrounds us may initially seem easy, but for some it can take a conscious effort to make it a part of a daily routine. When you awake in the morning and set the intention to notice more joy in the world, watch how your day and, eventually, your life is filled with more joy. The more we do this the more apt we will be to notice the sounds of children laughing or the sparkle of dewdrops on a flower petal. Allow this joy to fill your heart fully, and from there it will naturally expand to your entire body and then spread to others, giving them joy as well.
Taking in the small joys of each day expands our feeling of being connected with the world, especially once we become more attuned to them. With each passing day, we will find that these small delights, which bring a deeper level of appreciation for everything the universe has given to our lives, are miracles.
So ... I'm curious.
Just what DO you think?
11 comments:
I'm a huge believer in appreciating all of the every day joys. Why wait for something "big?"
If we wait for the big things to provide us with joy, we will become a bit manic/depressive. Big things only come occasionally - that's a lot of down time in between. I think I have tuned into small things quite naturally throughout most of my life. Recently I experienced a lack of joy - life threw too many challenges at me in a very short time. I couldn't keep up. I struggled on my own for a bit, trying to overcome this lack of joy, but finally conceded that I needed a bit of help and asked my doctor for antidepressants. Since being on the meds I have rediscovered life's little joys. Some of that has come through my blogging friends. I read Sarcastic Mom and Momisodes who always make me laugh, I've discovered Solomon Broad who blogs about gratitude each day, and I read Sacred Ruminations and Small Reflections which remind me to look for kindness and appreciate life's little pleasures. Jientje with her optism and her beautiful pictures, Chris with her "chakins" and Elimah with her art and her schooling. What a wealth of joyful reminders are all around us. I've rambled a bit. Hope I answered your question.
I have found that even on my worst days, if I try, I can find something to be happy about, to be grateful for. In fact, when I sick over the holidays, on the floor unable to move, I managed to feel grateful that my husband and mother were there to take care of me and everyone/thing else. And I even felt a slight bit of happiness that I could just let go, cede control over my situation.
Also--what a beautiful rose--a moment of perfection.
I believe the small things are what really sustain us. If we needed the constant extremes, we would lose all sense of grounding.
Now that I'm getting older, I really don't like the "big things" all that much. I prefer the flow of the everyday kindnesses and beauty we see around us.
I'm also a big believer in appreciating the moments that make up a life, large and small. It shouldn't be as much work as it truly is to sincerely take in every day's small joys, but then, anything worthwhile takes effort. I feel a real sadness for those too busy to feel the happiness brought to bear by the things they can't be bothered to behold.
Taking in those miracles every day, we become part of them! They really are a necessary part of our diet.
I love this flower!
Mama Zen – Amen to that! You seem to have a knack for doing just that from what I see of you and your family on your blog.
Eve – Thanks for sharing a bit of your story here. You seem to be finding ways to focus on the positive and bring joy into your life by the choices you make. I’ve enjoyed getting acquainted in this virtual world.
Karen – Yes! Allowing ourselves to be in whatever moment exists for us and accept help when we need it DOES bring more joy into our lives … and the lives of those around us too. As for the rose, I took photos of it daily intending to post them as a series … and maybe I will at some point, but today I thought this was enough.
Chani – I couldn’t agree more. The older I get the less “stuph” I want. Everyday kindness and beauty hold much more appeal for me as well.
Jennifer – It may be challenging in the midst of a busy life to stop and “smell the roses” … savoring the small joys of the day. When I worked, I used “cues” in my environment to help me stop briefly … post-it’s on the back door, my desk at work, in my car, etc. Breathing in the moment helped me relax in stressful moments and realize how much was “small stuph” that didn’t really matter unless I chose to let it.
Sandy – YES!!! And small miracles happen constantly all around us, feeding the spirit … when we notice and say thank you. I appreciated your last two T-13s and if you were looking for mine, it's at Small Reflections ... my other blog.
I appreciate all of you sharing your thoughts here. I wish you all a delightful day, wonderful week, and marvelous month!
Hugs and blessings,
A friend and I decided late last year to go through the Course in Miracles exercises together (i.e. separately yet together as support). We have reached the first review stage. How has it been for you as someone who has been doing it for a long time?
I have a great apprciation for Marianne Williamson. My favorite is "A Woman's Worth." I keep "Everyday Grace" here on my desk, which is also good. Beautiful Rose photo - my daughter's name, too.
I am moving this direction too. I am taking the Awakening Joy class, and I just read Happiness Now which says that you can only be happy in the now, but that happiness is always available to you in the now. That idea alone is making a big difference in my life. The textbook for the course is How We Choose to Be Happy by Rick Foster and Greg Hicks. It is about the 9 choices that extremely happy people make -- very interesting. It has really helped me to see which areas I need to strengthen.
Elspeth – I’ve decided to use your question as the topic of my Sacred Life Sunday post this week. I hope you’ll let me know what you think and share a bit of your own experience thus far.
Dream – I love both of those books by Marianne Williamson, but the one I keep close at hand is ILLUMINATA. Her prayers speak to my heart in life-changing ways … such simple yet powerful communications with Spirit! Rose is such a lovely name … give your daughter a hug from me.
Yertle – I’m not familiar with those books, but I’m amazed at how many authors share the same ideas in a myriad of ways and believe we’re on the edge of a significant shift in consciousness on our planet (ie the 100th monkey idea). These are exciting times indeed.
Thanks to all for sharing your views.
Hugs and blessings,
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