Joie de Vivre

Joie de Vivre
San Miguel de Allende, GTO, Mexico

My journey has taken me through both the peaks and valleys of life. There have been periods wasted as I attempted to discover what it takes to truly live. The answers found were in places remote and obscure. At times, I mined within. The answers have baffled me. It seems that there's an inverse relation between simplicity and happiness. Happiness requires less not more. It requires letting go.

Simplicity seems to bring uncomplicated joy to most. Children can be happy playing with sticks and balls. Mature adults seem to enjoy conversation over coffee at an outdoor cafe with a few friends. The many times I've travelled to Mexico, I've noticed how energy gets replenished even though the amount of sleep diminishes.

Days filled with very mundane things such as watching people stroll pass and listening to church bells ring, mute all other disruptions thereby shifting focus to the present and the joy of now. Today is it. It's the only day we've got. Living becomes as, if not more important, than simply doing. We live when we insure that our soul gets nourished  To this extent, living is about quality and not quantity.

A cup of coffee or a glass of wine with a good friend is an exercise in a different form of spiritual "holy communion". We share in the body of our humanity both our joys and our suffering. To live we must learn to drink from its cup. Ironically some of us must learn to pause and look so that we can live. If we fail to do so, life with certainty and swiftness will pass us by.

To my new found friends, Devesh and Corrine, let me thank you for reminding me of "joie de vivre". This is what I've been searching for many years. To my new friends from France, bonjour, welcome to my Daily Journey.