Comfort and Joy

"The fulfillment of spiritual selfhood takes place within, not without, although it becomes apparent without. There is no mistaking the man or woman who has found inner joy and satisfaction, who is at peace with himself and the world. Even though such a person might come to a place where some outer circumstance throws him off balance for a time, he quickly recovers from it because he realizes that the outer is not of too much importance." -- from God, the Substance of All Form, by Joel Goldsmith

"God's Will for me is perfect happiness." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 101

Hello to all of you... it has been a little over a month since I last posted... a busy month indeed. The appearance of busyness, at any rate. Beneath it all is a current of quiet joy and an invisible comfort that is always here. When I get caught up in the current of life, there is a discontentedness that alerts me... I'm not happy when I go unconscious and forget. This little mechanism is invaluable to me. Restlessness and discontent no longer means that the outer world needs to be changed. It means that I need to go within and remember Who I Am. When I do, all is indeed very well. And the outer story becomes completely irrelevant and completely precious at the same time.

Where are you looking for comfort and joy? There is only one place that it will ever be found... and that is within your very own consciousness. As A Course in Miracles reminds us, "... You can't have what you're not willing to be." You are the embodiment of spirit, of the very Being of Spirit. And when you forget that, you look for comfort and fulfillment, for joy and happiness in the people and circumstances around you. It is not there.

So whenever that lovely alert system tells you that you are feeling discontented, whenever you think someone or something else needs to change, reverse yourself. Be still, and become Aware of what is always here. You remain as God created you, and will forever be living and moving and having your very Being in God. Comfort and Joy and Goodness and Mercy, all the days of our lives.

"Seek not outside yourself. For all your pain comes simply from a futile search for what you want, insisting where is must be found." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 29, VII, 1:6-7