An ode to Joy

So many things have been good about this month, and this blog gives me a chance to do a rampage of appreciation.

The force has been with me this month. The force is known by many names: Divine love, the Source, the Holy Spirit, or Universal energy. It is a feeling of spiritual power that is precious and hard to hang-on to. It is stimulated by positive thought, although thought is probably not the origin. It includes a sense of being led by an intelligence beyond your own, and its prerequisite would seem to be a willingness to listen and follow. It includes a consciousness of personal power; the power one has to deliberately create ones' own environment and to positively influence events in the world.

There is a sense of good things coming toward you. There is the reward of seemingly unrelated and coincidental events, (Sychronicity), regularly working in your favor. You begin to develop an expectation of small, and perhaps even large, miracles occurring in your life. You visualize things happening, and watch them begin to take shape in reality. You are more effective at your job and more giving in your relationships. You have a taste of the actual reason for our existence: Joy!

I have been here before; perhaps most strongly during the month we visited South America, and through much of that subsequent summer. I thought I had it figured out back then, but it slipped away from me. Happily, I am in the midst of another opportunity.

As far as the actual events of the month, I can't list anything that sounds earthshaking or miraculous. We have attended concerts, visited our wonderful grandchildren, been to work daily and enjoyed each-others' company. Still, I have the sense that, amid the gloom and doom we read and hear about every day, wonderful and unknown possibilies are emerging. I am glad I was born and I love being alive.

It became apparent to me this week that, strange as it sounds, my classes have already progressed farther this year than they did all of last year. This has been my most effective year as a teacher. I am excited to see what I will be teaching for the rest of the year, since I have already covered most of what I actually know.

We received a call from Nibia, the Uruguayan sister we took to the temple. She is visiting her son, Ernesto, in Florida, and they are hoping to make a trip out here to see us, and my old companion Neil Hansen, during the next month. How terrific would that be? If it happens, we hope to find the opportunity for you all to meet her.

Anyway, I have the feeling that maintaining these good feelings is possible, and perhaps not all that complicated. It has to do with worrying a lot less, laughing a lot more, criticizing never and praising always. Not at all easy, but I suspect that to the extent we develop these patterns, we will find ourselves flowing along in harmony with the source of the power.

I would be interested in your comments and suggestions.