Enjoy!

For many years, when my mother would send me a gift for my birthday or Christmas, on the note she attached with the gift, she would write: "Enjoy!"

As time has gone by, I've learned that when I am present in my life, when I take a moment to look at what is around me, when I slow down enough to see, actually see, what surrounds me in every moment, I can "enjoy!" And life for those moments is wonderful!

"Joy" - a noun - and "enjoy" - a verb - point to spiritual realities. And these spiritual realities are always present. When you're moving fast, running to catch the train, thinking about what you have to do today, worried about your child in school, planning what you're going to make for dinner tonight, ruminating on what you want that you don't have in your life, then you are not present to the spiritual realities of beauty and light and goodness and joy around you.

To experience joy takes practice. To experience joy takes conscious effort. To experience joy takes discipline, and sometimes work - although not the kind of work we are accustomed to doing. To experience joy takes setting aside the important - and our concerns are very important - concerns of the day for a few moments, on a regular basis, so that we get the "feel" of joy.

Right now... yes! now!!! Look up from your computer into your environment. Breathe. What do you see? What is beautiful to you?

Enjoy!
Warmly,
meb