Choosing Joy In The Midst of Challenge

Joy is innate to the soul. We have it always. The secret of knowing joy even during challenges is refusing to let anyone or anything take it away.
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian

There are so many times in our life when we have some kind of challenge. It may be as simple as being late for an appointment but we get stuck in traffic and every stoplight is red. It could be a relationship or work challenge or it may be the loss of someone that we love or loss of a job. It is our human situation to have difficulties in our life. But how do we handle these challenges? Yogacharya O'Brian reminds us that joy is an inherent part of who we are, it can't be taken away unless we allow it. We can let an external situation disturb our peace or we can look at the situation and discern what is really bothering us and then figure out the best way to deal with that, remembering that everything is subject to change except our deep abiding joy, contentment and wisdom. This is where our meditation practice supports us. In the stillness of meditation, we learn to pause, observe, and create space between stimulus and response. It offers us a moment of clarity—an opportunity to return to our center and respond from a place of calm rather than reactivity. 

We can decide to live in that place of joy rather than allow anyone or anything to take it away. It's not that we ignore the issue but we remember that our joy is ours. We have the power to choose it.