Advent (Joy): What Are You Waiting For?

 “Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite

or waiting for the wind to fly a kite

or waiting around for Friday night…”

~ Dr. Seuss; Oh, The Places You’ll Go! 

Dr. Seuss makes me smile because he is always so right on.  When we’re little, we just know we’ll be happy when we’re big; and when we live in an apartment we’ll be happy when we have a house; and when we’re single we’ll be happy once we’re married; and on Monday we’ll be happy when it’s Friday…  Everyone – and their happiness – is just waiting.

As human beings we tend to set our sights on a dream and then convince ourselves that we’ll be happy when that dream is achieved.  Perhaps we’re wired this way so that we have the motivation to continue to persevere even in the face of adversity, but a side effect of it is that we spend our lives waiting for Joy, rather than living it.  I accept that it is a natural human inclination to delay gratification until we feel we have accomplished something, but if we are always in the mindset of “I will be happy when…” (or the more extreme “I won’t be happy until…”), we lose out on all of the joy that is available to us in the present, imperfect moment.

What if we broaden our perspective and open our minds to the availability of Joy even outside of our dreams?  What if I don’t need for my dreams to come true in order to experience joy?  What if I can become aware of the joy that is to be found in the Now?   (Don’t misunderstand, I would never suggest that you give up on your dreams, just that you not limit Joy to overtaking you only upon their fulfillment.)  Maybe joy was in your Yesterday, and I know it is destined to be in your Tomorrow.  But it is also in your Today, and it is here that your energy and awareness are best focused.

Joy is in the living, breathing moments of everyday, and it is yours for the taking.

So, what are you waiting for?

~ Christiana 

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