Moments of joy, even bliss arrive slowly, subtly. Like a sunrise, they build over time. Then like the morning sun, there they are, warming your toes through a glass door.
Those feelings never seem to arrive at the watershed moments of life. Rarely have I felt deep, chest filling peace during a celebration or underneath fireworks. No, I have mostly been surprised by these moments on quiet, mundane days, surrounded by the warm and familiar.
Being home with nothing to do, I listen to atmospheric music from my youth. It reminds me gently of all the pain that has come and gone and of friends that remain. Coffee warms me deep into the old armchair in my favourite corner and life passes wistfully by. Children, trapped by a global epidemic, yet clothed in independence, work happily not far away.
Amidst this cacophony of domestic sensations, I become aware of a warmth in my chest. Like a colourful bird that always surprises with its seasonal, infrequent visits, I embrace it all in wonder.
Those ancient and powerful voices that bully my mind seem strangely quiet on days like these. Not dwelling on the failures and trauma that normally charge about like spooked cattle, they rest steadily. The fear that usually seeps into every corner like fog has lifted, leaving the air unsettlingly still and clear. A rare moment of simple mindfulness has come against the run of play.
With life, comes pain
So much of life brings pain. Success and luck inevitably breed a strong crop of fear of loss. Failure and pain are almost always accompanied by sadness and doubt just as surely as the arrival of the cold early tide. A tide it seems that is almost always rushing one way or the other.
Those rare moments when the water is tranquil don’t come too often. The noise and busyness of life push them away. Occasionally though, just occasionally all is still and you find yourself somehow dangling your feet in clear water with nothing between you and the horizon but a calm, beautiful ocean.
These are the moments when bliss will gently turn her beautiful face towards you. These are the moments that she will bring healing. Be warned though, she is never one to be bullied or shouted down. She will quietly withdraw rather than compete for your attention, leaving you once again to face the ravages of daily life alone.
Cherish
She can though, like that bird, be softly and patiently drawn closer over time. If we cherish daily those moments of stillness, if we seek to quieten the inner voices and sow seed on a resting mind, then sometimes she will gently appear.
I think perhaps that these moments are the measure of a successful life. Not in the ability to clutch possessions to you like a child would a handful of sand or gather people about you like the walls of a fort. Rather to have faced the bitter world bravely with only your values to guide and protect you. To leave people better than you found them, haunted only by the subtle perfume of your kindness and generosity. To retire at days end to a peaceful and quiet mind where joy blossoms. To allow the ebb and flow of a full heart to cleanse you.
This is true success and it is a success that is only known by a kind and gentle heart and a quiet and still mind.
Balance – Mindfulness is the key » The Good The Bad and The Unrelated