The chicken and egg make peace

Egg shell sculpture by Kyle Bean

The whole chicken/egg conundrum can easily drive one to distraction.  A case can be made for either side, but in the end does it really matter?  Is it not more important that both exist?  And frankly, if physicists are correct in their assertions that our concept of time and sequence is inaccurate, then there would be no coming 'first' for either one!

The same sort of cause/effect questions may be found in many aspects of life.  Does success bring us happiness or, in truth, does happiness bring us success?  Psychologists' surveys and research suggest the latter.    

Given that our attitude has such a tremendous impact on our wellbeing, happiness, and enjoyment of any activity in particular, it stands to reason that we can expect to be happy and joyous no matter what our general circumstances.

So then does this mean that we should not do the things we love most?  Not let our light shine in our own unique and essential way?  Not at all.  It simply means that we can be happy and enjoy ourselves whether we are writing the great American novel or doing the dishes; whether we are watching our child take his first step or changing a flat tire; because we can find the beauty and grace in the moment -- and bring some of the loveliest aspects of our character to bear on any situation.

As for the things we love to do most, I have often pondered whether we enjoy the things we excel at because we are good at them, or is it we excel at these activities because we enjoy them..... It is at that point that chickens and eggs begin to dance around the periphery of my thoughts.  

One thing I do know with certainty is that we all have gifts; and these gifts are meant to bless and bring joy to ourselves, those near to us, and those from afar who are benefited by who we are and what we do.  And so it is actually not a bit selfish to give consecrated thought to what we enjoy most, what about our character and talents we enjoy most; and then go after ways to employ those gifts and talents.  For if we cultivate and use the tools in our individual bags of tricks we will find we are so happy and content and productively active that we no longer see an issue of chickens and eggs.... just joy and purpose for all, regardless of their stage of life.

Ode to your own joy & freedom

I've had an intense and tear-filled last few days, rife with compounding confusion and seeming instability.
This morning a friend sent me the link to the video clip below, the intro to which sums up all that I would wish to convey today.

In it, the incomparable Leonard Bernstein gushes "This music is the closest music has ever come to universality. To all kinds of people, this music is not only infinitely durable, but perhaps the closest music has ever come to universality. No composer has ever lived who speaks so directly to so many people -- to young and old, educated and ignorant, amateur and professional, sophisticated and naive... And to all these people of all classes, nationalities and racial backgrounds, this music speaks a universality of thought, of human brotherhood, freedom and love. It has a purity and directness of communication...... 

That innocent spirit speaks to us of hope and future and immortality. And it's for that reason that we love his music now more than ever before. In this time of world agony and hopelessness and helplessness. We love his music and need it. As despairing as we may be, we can not listen to this 9th symphony without emerging from it changed, enriched, encouraged. And to the man who could give the world so precious a gift as this, no honor can be too great and no celebration joyful enough.  It's almost like celebrting the birthday of music itself."

Please note, the video is a 3-parter, each gloriously building on the last :)

Additionally [per Wikipedia]:

On December 25, 1989, Bernstein conducted Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in East Berlin's Schauspielhaus (Playhouse) as part of a celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall. He had conducted the same work in West Berlin the previous day. The concert was broadcast live in more than twenty countries to an estimated audience of 100 million people. For the occasion, Bernstein reworded Friedrich Schiller's text of the Ode to Joy, substituting the word Freiheit (freedom) for Freude (joy).[34] Bernstein, in his spoken introduction, said that they had "taken the liberty" of doing this because of a "most likely phony" story, apparently believed in some quarters, that Schiller wrote an "Ode to Freedom" that is now presumed lost. Bernstein added, "I'm sure that Beethoven would have given us his blessing."

The Magic Kingdom.... within

Walmart is generally recognized as the grand-daddy of super stores.
You can get everything there
at any time of day or night..... at least at the ones open 24/7
and you can get it all at rock bottom prices.

On the more magical side, a similar one-stop-shopping experience can be had at Disneyland.
With a variety of theme lands within the park at large you can visit the Wild West, the realm of fantasy, and even the world of tomorrow, all within the space of a few hours.  You can nosh on burgers and fries or fine dining fare, go dancing, shopping, zip around on theme rides, watch a parade, or just sit and admire lovingly manicured landscaping.

What if you could find the same sort of experience for your soul?  What if there was a single source for everything you desired... for peace, joy, love, fulfillment, wisdom, and so on...
Well there is.
And the good news is you don't have to wade through traffic to get there or jockey for a parking spot once you've arrived.  You don't have to hitch a trailer to your car to take it with you, and you can never misplace it or be robbed of it.
Because it is in you.
It IS you.

Few of us realize how perfectly equipped we were made to handle anything and everything life might throw at us, and to do so with decisiveness, grace and sure success.  We all possess untapped wells of understanding love and strength beyond our reckoning.  Like just about every other worthwhile pursuit, the cultivation of one's character takes diligent, consistent, undiscouraged effort.  But take heart, these spiritual workouts always bear results and it is impossible to backslide or unlearn any valuable lesson you've mastered.

So as we enter the heart of the holidays this week, instead of looking for the good we desire under the tree or even under the mistletoe, why not start by looking within.  I think you will be delighted to find that all the love, happiness, beauty, confidence and success you've ever wanted have always been inside of you... and always will be.  Good comes from within... to be shared and expressed without.  Enjoy sharing yours <3

joy to the worldly yours,
J.