Funny, Calm and Joy seem rather at opposite ends of the spectrum, although who’s to say that Joy can’t show up in a lot of ways? But I’m wondering if we don’t need to calm ourselves so that we can see the joy.

It’s so easy to get agitated about the yucky stuff. And then we start to spin. And spin. And pretty soon, it’s difficult to see the path out because what we see is the spin. One big exhale and an inhale later, the spin can stop and we can begin to see the the steps.

Calm owes a lot to good breathing. You deal with what’s in front of you. But when things are grand, then it’s fun and even good to jump for joy. As kids we know the joy and jumping connection. As adults, we’re really rather more attached to jumping up and down in horror or rage. Those are situations that require a calm heart and a reasoning brain. The Jumping is just a distraction, a way to let the rage and the horror win.

Now Joy is an entirely different kettle of fish. Joy bubbles out of us or radiates depending on how open we’re willing to be and it infects others if we let it out. Again, would you rather people caught the Joy or the rage and horror?

So calm yourself deal with what’s going on, and open to the Joy of simply being alive and sharing this Life. Wow! You’re here! Celebrate! Dance! Peace!