Finding Joy

[Vicki Goldsberry]

Transitions from one year to the next naturally and organically invite us to reflect on the past while we contemplate and plan for the future. Even if the concept of time is a construct we have chosen to help organize our existence, this cycle is inevitable, perhaps necessary, and -- we hope --constructive.

And so I, like many of you, have been considering my personal 2008... knowing that my inner space influences not only my life, but also that of the planet. I'm not feeling grandiose here -- far from it! But I know without a doubt that out there, in the
Real Global Tangible World -- beyond
our mere actions -- our intentions, our thoughts and words, and our very states of mind make a difference in ways both grand and diminutive.

Acknowledging that means accepting a responsibility: I can't wallow in despair, luxuriate in anguish, indulge in cynicism. It doesn't help me, or the rest of us. And though I know I will lapse, I'm going to make a mighty effort to avoid all that. You can let me know when I start to slip!

You know, in almost every yoga class, the teacher invites the students to choose an intention for their practice: what do they hope to realize with their practice? What brings them to practice yoga that day?

I always waffle here: it's so hard for my Piscean nature to make a decision! My body is balanced and healthy? I give and receive love freely? I love myself and others love me as well?

The challenges of this past year (or more optimistically, "opportunities for growth") have encouraged me to select a highly appropriate custom-made intention. And so I have.

I find joy no matter what.

It's just that simple. Regardless of circumstances, I will find the joy.

In the midst of economic fears, global tragedies. Notwithstanding career transitions and feelings of abandonment.
In the face of relationship issues and disappointing pie crusts. In defiance of death and aging.

After all, to quote the magical film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button":

You never know what's coming for you.

Thank goodness. I find that encouraging. After all, it could be joy, coming to me from just around the corner. Or perhaps the other side of the world.