What are the things that make you happy? What are the things you know for sure about anything?
The basis of a fulfilling life is the depth and breadth of the integrity we keep as we flow through life. Integrity is the paving stone to joy. But before all is the knowledge of the self. When you know who you are then only integrity can be achieved in each step.
Listen to the feeble, subtle voice inside us. It is so easy to overlook this voice. I have ignored this voice for far too long. It wasn’t ignorance, I didn’t know what was happening. But the feelings that emerged along with this voice were distinct. I suppressed them all along.
It is that inward pinch you feel even when you say a harmless lie. That is the simplest explanation I can think of.
Listen to this inner voice. When you listen and understand what it is trying to say and take actions that are in alignment with this voice or more accurately in alignment with who we are in essence, more peace and joy flows in. This may be the voice of the universe itself, which is there in all of us, or maybe we are the universe itself.
And how can you listen to this voice?
By being present.
Every answer is in the now. When you draw slowly your attention to the present and focus on what matters, I have seen doors opening. Being present is not easy when we are surrounded by many things that are screaming for our attention. But you know, today is a new day, you can take a small step to bring more presence in your life.
Joy and integrity go hand in hand. When you are truthful to yourself there is peace and that is where pure joy thrives. Many contemporary spiritual teachers urge us to follow joy because that will help in the most profound spiritual advancements. I didn’t know how joy looked on me. I didn’t know what things make my heart sing. It wasn’t shopping or going on vacations, it wasn’t even closer to any things I thought. When I dug deeper I got the answers. One thing that brings joy to all of us is the combination of love and purpose.
Like Maya Angelou said
“But we are more alike, my friends,
Than we are unalike.”
By listening to that feeble voice within me I found what true joy is, and started to live a life aligned with who I am rather than what the loudest voices around me say.
Unplug from all the distractions, and listen, life is speaking to you always. It will amaze you, just about everything life is speaking to you. You are life itself and may have forgotten your roots. Listen closely and find out how joy looks on you and do more and more of it and life expands in the best possible ways.
Thoughts of Freedom 