Tidings of Great Joy

What brings you joy? Most of us can come up with several things: spending time with a loved one, watching a beautiful sunrise, gazing at a newborn baby, walking along a quiet beach, or nuzzling a favorite pet. We welcome these opportunities. They seem to fill us up, bring us happiness.
 
Is this what life is all about?  Are we to orchestrate our lives in a way to spend as much time as possible with people and things that we feel bring us joy?  Should we avoid situations that upset us? There are so many things to avoid! Have you noticed that you’re disappointed when you can’t and relieved when you can? The whole thing is exhausting. This can’t be ….
 
It’s not certain situations/people/animals that bring us joy, it’s the act of being open to the experience – something we’ve trained ourselves to do when we see what we like.
 
We’ve also trained ourselves to close down when we see what we don’t like. We assume what we don’t like is the cause of our upset. It’s not. It’s closing down – hardening our hearts. #stopclosingyourheart