Portals to Joy

Imagine a bright and sunny morning. You're at a beautiful park. Children are playing, a small stream is trickling in the background, birds are singing and the grass and trees are lush and green. But you don't know where you are, because you're wearing a blindfold, you've got earplugs in, and you're standing in the shade so you can't feel the sun on your face. Even the shoes on your feet are preventing you from feeling the soft grass. Your world is dark, cold, silent and textureless. Reality itself doesn't need to change in order for you to feel joy; you just haven't learned how to remove the blocks that are keeping you from fully experiencing it.

My life changed the day I realized that joy is all around me and inside me. In fact, the wonder is that I am so effectively able to shut it out! When I'm fully present, I can feel joy each time I wiggle my toes and each time I breathe. It's in the air, the earth, and in the eyes of people I meet.

A portal to joy is anything that wakes you up to reality. Here are a few of my favorites:

Love & Connection
This may seem like stating the obvious, but I'm not just talking about romantic love -- I'm talking about loving everyone around you. When your heart is filled with love, it doesn't matter if you are single or married or in between. You can give, you can serve, and you can feel completely joyful while doing even the most mundane tasks.

Creativity
The desire to create is in our DNA. When we let go of judgment and just allow ourselves to surrender to the moment, the simplest act of creation can feel like transcendence. When we create, we act as conduits through which consciousness flows into the physical world.

Struggle
Why would I say that struggle is one of my favorite portals to joy? I dislike suffering as much as the next person; it's uncomfortable, painful, and scary. But it's also very effective, and I would not be who I am without it. Suffering is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful and prevalent awakening influences in this world.

There are so, so many more portals to joy than the ones I've mentioned here! Ultimately, everything is a portal to joy, for joy is our collective and individual destiny.