Consistent joy

Surely joy is the condition of life - Henry David Thoreau

I really do get it that I am not going to feel good unless I am in alignment with who I am.

When I have to go out and water the plants in ninety degree temperatures, I don't say to myself, "I don't feel like it". Instead I focus on how the plants would appreciate this drink of water and how I won't mind getting a few sprays on me as well. I focus on the wellbeing of the plants as I make my way around the garden.

When I ask others to accompany me, I usually get, "In this heat?" or "I don't feel like it." Or "Not right now."

But the plants doesn't know of those answers, and if I were to think like that I won't ever go out and tend the garden, in fact I shouldn't have a garden at all, if I were to harbor this kind of self-limiting thinking.

Therefore a shift in perception is self empowering. I am happy to be tending to the plants because the thought of me quenching their thirst is a happy one. I feel joyful whenever I think of my plants, whenever I look at them or tend to them. All aspects of gardening brings joy in one form or another and even when the chores are burdensome and inconvenient, I deliberately focus upon the wellbeing of the plants so that I may continue to carry on with the chores without resistance.

Consistent joy and happiness requires only a shift in perception.