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Today's
Meditation:
I
like the word "enjoy," mostly because the word
"joy" is a part of it. Joy seems to be so
hard to encounter these days, in our world of busy, busy
people who are focused on getting more work done, having
contact with more and more people, gathering more
information, earning more money, buying more things.
It seems at times that we forget that one of our most
important duties as human beings--to enjoy the gifts we've
been given--has been relegated to the closet, where it's
hidden away until that day arrives when we have enough
money and enough things that we don't have to focus all
our energy on achieving any more.
And it really is no secret: that day won't
arrive. That is, unless we have a near-death
experience or an illness that almost takes us or we lose a
loved one with whom we almost never took the time to enjoy
our lives and our relationship.
Being on my way to the scrap-heap is a frightening thought
to me. Just where am I going? Is the final
destination of my journey a dump somewhere? Am I
neglecting the beauty and wonder in my life so much that
I'm becoming miserable, and I'll find myself one day
collapsing from exhaustion instead of rising up in
joy? Will I wake up each morning exhausted and
already dreading the new day, or do I look forward to the
new opportunities of the day with enthusiasm and
gratitude?
If we end up on a scrap-heap, worn out and useless, then
we need to keep in mind that the responsibility for that
is ours alone--we've put ourselves there. We all
have the chance to enjoy the great things of our
lives--the company of nice people, the beauty of our
surroundings, our contributions to the lives of others,
the great food and drink, the ability to run and jump and
write and sing and talk to little kids--and no one at all
can help us to enjoy these things. That's something
that has to come from within.
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