Joy

There is only one religion in the world, and that is to be joyous -- to have joy in everything that you do.

The heavenly rewards of the joyous are right here and now before us, as are the pains and sufferings of the sorrowful. Joy is the only virtue in life; and being sorrowful is the only vice, the only sin. There can be no waiting for a better (or worse) life in any supposed future hereafter-- the bliss of heaven and the sting of hell are here and now, or else they do not exist at all. Have joy in life, and the joys of life will seek you out; but be sorrowful and you will find only suffering, no matter where you look. And if you cannot enjoy, then what is this life for? Surely not for struggle and turmoil. Only a voracious demon would have created such a world. And if you believe in a beneficent Creator, a good God, then surely it follows that you must also believe in a world blessed by the joy of His continuous and ubiquitous Presence. And if God is everywhere, and everywhere to be found -- then what is there to be so sorrowful over?

This sorrow, so common to the hearts and minds of the unenlightened, stems from an inability to see the world for what it is, an incapacity to find meaning in the apparent chaos of the created Universe, an outright failure to truly know themselves for who and what they really are. But the panacea for all this is simple-- so simple it is often easily overlooked or outright denied, so simple that it often defies all of our cultural, religious and personal beliefs. There are so many people, so many sorrowful people, who simply cannot enjoy even the most simple and common and downright ordinary things in life-- a beautiful sunset or sunrise, a magnificent work of art, intelligent conversation, loving and being in love. So they look elsewhere for God-- outside of the life of the world, outside of their own lives. They believe that joy is futile, even wasteful; and so they miss how immediately present the Divine Life is in their very own lives. They refuse to believe that life has any meaning at all; and so they refuse themselves the most apparent proof of life’s meaning, and the most obvious proof for the existence of God.

For God enjoys all things-- what else were all these things created for?-- and not simply for His own ineffable amusement. God deeply enjoys the play of sun, moon, and earth; the imaginative handiwork of our hands; the eloquent speech of our mouths; above all, the love of our hearts, minds, and bodies. But God cannot partake in the joy of even these most common aspects of life, unless we choose to allow ourselves the God-given right to enjoy them. It is through us, and through us alone, that God enjoys the joys of living, the delights of life, the true blessedness of His own Creation.

So look at life, look at the world as it is; look closely, and you will see God-- playing, loving, and delighting in the very midst of His own created Being. It takes but a single glimpse into the true nature of Reality -- and by Reality we mean both the spiritual fabric of the created material world, as well as the enduring Selfhood that remains forever untouched and aloof from our own personal psychologies and physiologies-- to dispel the illusions of the sorrowful man’s clouded and ignorant worldview. But a single glimpse … and our hearts and minds are forever free of pain and sorrow. But a single glimpse … and our entire being is permanently opened to a heavenly flood of blissful joy. But few know where to look; and it is very difficult to convince most men and women-- especially ‘religious’ men and women-- that the vision of God is already so near to their very own eyes.

God is Life itself; and to be truly religious is to enjoy life. To be truly religious is to deeply inhale the fragrance of life; to look upon even the most common events of our day to day living with an air of deep gratitude and reverence; to take in all the sights and sounds of the world, looking and listening acutely for the hidden pattern and harmony that is sure to present itself. God is the total material-spiritual Unity of Life. Divinity is not a static entity existing ‘somewhere out there;’ it is a dynamic phenomenon streaming and flowing through everything, everywhere, always. God is not hiding ‘somewhere,’ waiting for you to find Him. God is right here and now living Life to the full-- and enjoying every moment of it deeply. It is not that you have to ‘find God’ -- God is at all times and in all places actively seeking you out! But so long as you remain sorrowful, despondent, burdened with pains and sorrows, He cannot find you. You must open up the temple of your heart and mind, you have to open up the doors of your senses-- only then can the Spirit truly blow through you, and enliven you, and reveal your own Godhood to you. When the pain has disappeared, and you find yourself dancing -- then God has happened to you. When your tears have dried up, and you find yourself singing-- then God has entered you, and become you, and sings through you.

Have joy, and you will be deeply religious-- for joy is ultimate goal of all religion.

Posted by Upwinger at December 25, 2006 05:52 PM