"Joy is our true primary emotion." (Harville Hendrix, PhD)
I have always felt this and known this intuitively but to actually read it from a psychology/biology perspective is so validating.
To me, this starts to bring a question to the beliefs some of us hold that life is hard, you must work hard and be stressed in order for it to count and we don't deserve to always be happy, joy is reserved for weekends and vacations. It is a luxury.
What if we have it backward?
What if we could live life in our natural state of joy majority of the time just because we woke up? Because we have our breath. Because we are. Because I am.
How do we do this?
For me, it always goes back to the same thing. Being present. Being intuitively aware - in my senses. Seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary.
It all might sound cliche but it's about stopping to smell the roses, connecting with who you are with at the moment, noticing the wind in the trees, hearing the message in the silence, being present in the space between the seconds.
Imagine if we all experienced our true primary emotion every day. And I think this is what we all strive for. Be it in yoga, art, relationships, nutrition, travel, books etc...and imagine if without all of those things that bring us the joy we could connect within ourselves and with others to experience it even without the external resource.
It is about connection. Connection with self and connection with others. Postive, loving, "I see you" kind of connection.
This fits for me. I thrive with positive connection be it with my children, friends, sisters, or the conscious kind person in the grocery store. I feel alive and seen and like I am making a difference when I can stop and really see them and connect with what they want to offer, with who they are.
To be in the present moment connecting brings us to our natural state of joy. Awesome.