Today has everything the world offers. Look no further for your next action or your next joy. The door to the world of joy is open today.
Beware expectations of the future. We have only today. Today the world turns. Today the world turns. Today the world turns. What is a day? Why slice up your life. We have only this breath, this breath, this breath.
Collect the joy of today into your heart. The future you imagine arises from today only. Look around for the beauty and love that today offers you. Yes, today offers you non-joy AND today offers you JOY! What are you filling your mind with? What are you filling your heart with? Choose your filling! What will it be? Sadness, mediocrity, or joy? I recommend the joy with a generous topping of love.
I recall Carl’s Alzheimer’s progressing:
Carl looks at me, confused as to how he should feel. He seems to notice what busy minds miss: he’s never had this moment before. However I am being, Carl mirrors me with magnification. If I am sad, Carl is sullen. If I am happy, Carl is giddy. When I am with him, I am his world. I notice this, so I make an effort to fill myself with love and joy. I pay attention to be clear in my communication with my wife so I can carry happiness from my marriage with me into my visits with Carl.
I discover an upward spiral of joy. If I show up with joy and love in my heart, Carl begins to reflect it back, making me more at ease and happier still. If I am forgiving with him, he finds comfort in my presence making me aware that my efforts bear fruit in his peace. For me it is like walking into the house of life with a stairway down into the dark basement and another to the patio on the roof under the open sky and sunshine. We always have that choice. I like the view from the roof. It is more work to climb the stairs, but that is where the joy is.
Be at peace with today. Create an upward spiral of joy!
David
David Lazaroff is author of Live It Up! 10 Ways to Share Joy When Your Friend Has Alzheimer’s. David coaches family and friends of people with Alzheimer’s Disease in creating a fun and joyful life. Contact david@holistic.com
David is the founder of Holistic Community Living, a Colorado nonprofit founded to operate and teach others to operate neighborhood-based assisted living homes where people can complete their lives with those they love.
