A Meditation on Joy

What is joy?
Does it seem presumptuous to ask?
One thing’s for sure,  it isn’t the same for all of us.
Like buzzing sparkling hummingbirds,
It flutters and sometimes lands and leaves again.
Is there a way to hold on to it?
To store it like fireflies in a jar or luscious berry preserves?
It all depends on what joy means to you.
Joy, like pain, is transient.
Glimpsing it when it lands prolongs its deliciousness.
Leaning into it helps seal it in.
Trusting it will come round again can lighten the load right now.
Honor joy by feeling grateful for it.
It shows up when you least expect it.
It isn’t for a select few.
It is for all of us.
Those of us who are living in shadows most of our life or mired in grief
or trapped in eternal bouts of anxiety.
Sometimes it is to be discovered,
like a sunshine shell floating out of the ocean.
It can be hidden deep inside moments of suffering.
In those moments, it may feel faint and barely visible.
But it is there. And that is really enough.
It can be lost in expectations of what it should be.
It can be suffocated by forcing it to stay.
Know that you are a child of the Universe and joy is your birthright.
Know that your intentions, your choices, your actions can cultivate joy.
And let the joy ebb and flow.
And when it’s here, love it and know it will be here again.