I watched a little one playing the other day. Her father was blowing soap bubbles through a loop, as she chased and squealed and raced to ‘catch’ them.

They spent a good portion of their afternoon occupied in this simply joy — following the wonderment of creation.

It reminded me of William Blake’s poem,” Eternity.”

He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise

How easily this little one manifested the joy of being human; engaging the richness of life just as it unfolded. That we might learn to be captivated in just this way; to kiss joy as it flies, and live forever in eternity’s sunrise. And yet, we are apprehensive to do so.

Perhaps, owing to our thoughts on indulgence — that this chasing of pleasure is a fools game, after all.

In the Buddhist tradition, there is an important teaching regarding ‘aimlessness’ – or, apraṇihita. Loosely translated, it means ‘to place nothing in front of’. Though, our Westernized view misconstrues as ‘without purpose or direction’.

So then, how do we place emphasis on that which might pull us away, or dilute the nature of our purpose?

As Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh explains in his book “Peace Is Every Step”:

“The idea of aimlessness is that you do not put something in front of you and run after it, because everything is already here, in yourself.”

There’s a subtle difference as we look deeply, my loves.

Meaning, our greatest happiness manifests in those moments when we are willing to engage this life just as it is.

Why?

Because, the voice of Joy is the voice within. They are indistinguishable.

A little something to consider on this day, my loves ~

Namaste ❤️