What brings you joy?

 Captain America: Winter Soldier

Steve is still on his search to figure out how he wants to be connected to SHIELD, now that he no longer trusts SHIELD.  He stops by the VA to see Sam Wilson, a new friend he met while running at the beginning of Captain American: Winter Soldier.  

They engage in conversation about the group Sam was just leading for vets.

Sam:  We all have the same issues:  guilt, regret.

Cap:  You lose someone?

Sam:  My wingman.  Flying a night mission.  Standard rescue op.  Nothing we hadn’t done 1000 times before until a RPG knocked him out of the sky.  Nothing I could do.  It was like I was up there just to watch.

Cap:  I’m sorry.
Sam:  After that I had a hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know.

Cap:  Are you happy now, back in the world?
Same:  The number of people giving me orders is down to about zero, so hell yeah.  You thinking about getting out?
Cap:  Um, I don’t know.  To be honest, I don’t know what I would do with myself it I did.

Sam:  Ultimate fighting?   Just an idea off the top of my head.  Seriously, you could do anything that you want to do.  What makes you happy?

Cap:  (thinking…)  I don’t know….



What brings you joy?

This is such a vital question.  We usually do not ask it to each other.  But when we ask it and listen, really listen, we are given the opportunity to hear their heart’s passion, their Soul’s purpose, their Call.
 

What brings you joy?

We also do not know how to answer it in this culture.  We can easily answer what we do.  We can sometimes answer what we enjoy doing, our hobbies.  We know what we do for fun, if we do things for fun.

But this stumps us.  What brings you joy?

Huh….

It stumps us because it is not an intellectual question.  It is a heart question.  Joy is not from the brain like fun, pleasure, work, hobbies, etc.  Joy is a heart created experience.  

Joy requires us to connect to our hearts. 

For some of us, this is scary.  We don’t go there.  Maybe we have been deeply wounded and we fear feeling that wound every time we connect with our hearts.  

Or maybe we have always been in our heads and intellect our entire lives.  We truly have never learned how to listen to our hearts.  We may think we are, but we are actually being tricked by our brains who are answering for our hearts.
Or what is happening in our culture at this moment, the violence, the mass shootings, the hatred, all is too much for us.  So we chose to not feel it, to stay out of our hearts.  This is understandable.  It is painful what is happening around us, in this country.  It is painful to witness all this violence happening across the country.  It is scary.  It creates anxiety and fear.  It makes it hard to be in our hearts.  

Living in our hearts, even in these painful times, can open up new avenues of healing, witnessing, action, perceiving and more.  Feeling our way through this time creates in our hearts an inner knowing to help us make a difference and create the change we desire.  Our heads can not do that.  Only Love can, only our Hearts can.

It takes Intention and a willingness to be Vulnerable to connect to our hearts.  Our hearts need to know that we are actually listening, that we truly want to know, and that once we know we will act upon the answers we receive.


So what brings you joy?

Anoukie brings me joy, my dog.  She is my teacher, constantly teaching me to take time to nature my heart, to laugh, to play, to be in experience, in the moment.  This powerful girl has transformed me and my heart, in ways that I not always aware of.  

Weaving, crocheting, knitting, fiber arts bring me joy.  I love to lose myself in this spiritual practice.  Each time I do, I come out of those moments feeling this deep peace, harmony and balance that I know (heart-knowing) is joy.

Hiking, walking, being outside in nature brings me joy.  I feel the support of Mother Earth below me.  Breath in the breathe that is the Sacred.  Witness beauty all around me.  Listen to the heart songs of the winged ones.  My heart fills with joy just being in contact with nature.
When I am connected to nature, weaving, or playing with my pup, I am in my heart.  Each of those activities drops me to the center of my being, to my heart, where I feel my heart expand with Love and Joy.


What brings you joy?
How are you incorporating that joy into your life?

When we let joy lead us, our lives are full of abundance, love, harmony, peace, and, of course, joy!​

What brings you joy?

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