Joy (by the Disciple)

Joy

I know and express joy, unlimited and full of gratitude.

In our humanness, there are physical activities, events, and accomplishments that bring us joy. From our subtle giggles and chuckles with friends to our cheering shouts in a crowd, we unite in expressions of happiness. We exchange the jubilance of the human spirit with abilities to inspire one another, to thrive individually, and to expand joyfully amidst a multitude of life's happenings.

The joy of the Spirit is the greatest joy, because it is pure, deep, and powerful. In any moment--whether still or exuberant, happy or serious--we can experience the joy of Spirit. Allowing ourselves to acknowledge that God's spirit is within us, enfolding us, we know and express joy, unlimited and full of gratitude.

"I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother."--Philemon 1:7

That was an excerpt from the Godfather of our Nation.

He sent it as a grounding sentiment for the work ahead.

I get caught up writing this blog. I get caught up reading and writing all of this philosophy and offering all this advice. That on many occasion I completely lose track of myself.

I completely neglect all of the advice that I offer. I write the words; but don’t understand the thoughts behind them.

I offer advice to those around me for what to do or how to handle a situation or a person. But, I haven’t been looking inside of myself. I have been too scared to apply any of the lessons I write about to the people that are closest to me.

I have lost the ability to be honest with myself because I am scared of being hurt. I am scared of being let down and scared of failure. I am scared of everything that I have written about and the exact moments I provide advice for.

Concluding, I am sorry to those who I continue to hurt. I am sorry for the actions that I continue to do. I am sorry to myself for being so weak and scared of everything I encounter.

I need to follow the lead of my friends and neighbors. I need to go the way of the Cardinals and follow Nation into the jungle of life without any security blanket for the future of our existence.

Someone told me recently that true love is never supposed to hurt. I will respond that true love always hurts; that’s how you know it is real.

I love you all and hopefully we will be celebrating another Sunday in which we shock the world.

Keep faith my friends!