Evelyn’s Commentary on the Poem: “The Way to Joy”

After a few minutes of meditating in my meditation garden one morning, I opened up a devotion book with the idea of focusing on just a few words on one page and letting God speak to me through them.  The page to which I opened contained four words as a title to a sub-section: “The Way to Joy.”

As I repeated these words over and over very slowly focusing on each word, a poem began forming in my mind.  I grabbed my journal and allowed the words to spill over onto the paper.  The poem was inspired by the four words, but more as a reaction to them.  Joy is not something that can be acquired by walking a certain path, living a certain way, or following certain precepts.  Joy is not a reward to be earned at the end of some experience or journey.  Instead, joy is living in the present nothingness surrounded by God’s love.  It is here right now, already given to us through the divine presence within each of us.  But we often choose to ignore the state of joy as we wear the blinders of our goal-driven lifestyle that block out the simple truth – there is no way to joy; joy exists in the now-ness of the moment lived out in God’s love.