Resting in Joy

“Have the courage to rest in your joy."

Anonymous

Why do I need courage to rest in my joy?

Truth be told, I don’t spend much time actually resting in my joy. Joy is a feeling I long for, hope for, and occasionally experience. Those times when I actually experience joy, I find my mind sending up warning signals like, “you don’t deserve joy”, or “go ahead, but wait till the next bomb drops”. There is often a ‘ya, but’ contingency to my joy.

Why?

I continue to struggle with my sense of value.

Dam! Why?

I am sober today. By the grace of God, the incredible forgiveness and acceptance of God and our 12 step communities, the unbelievable presence of goodness in our yoga community, AND the ongoing evidence of God’s presence in life, how can I question my value?

Let me count the ways.

There are my character defects.

There is my desire to ride my dead horses. That is, to cling to my character defects as

familiar friends.

There is my preoccupation with my mind. (A dangerous place to be)

There is my denial. I have a strong practice of denial.

As always, this list of negativity can be endless, IF I CHOOSE TO GO THERE!

Today, right now, I will leave that place of negativity and return to God, you and our community. This is where there is the courage to make the changes I know I need to make. So, I will change. I will apply courage and overcome fear. I will call on grace to return me to the place of joy in sobriety, community, forgiveness, and fullness of life. Here we are. This is the place where we thrive. This is our place of rest.

Joy.

Yes, this is good. This is our purpose in life: to be joyful, radiant, and sober.

Thank you.

Namaste’