Smiles of joy

An bit of an 'add-on' extension to Judy’s ‘happy’ dialogue in the previous post.

For a long time, I have been aware that as soon as I start teaching an aikido class, I feel joy rising within me. Whatever may have happened during the day, or even on my way to the mat, once I have lead the class in a few minutes of misogi breathing and begun our ki exercises, I feel a bit of a twinkle in my eye and I can’t help but smile a bit.

Over the past few months, I have had a couple of opportunities where my photo has been snapped while I was in the midst of an aikido throw. The photos all capture a smile (and I am not known for taking great photos). I looked at those photos and see joy. That fact has lead me in my decision-making within our dojo and in choices over my entire life. Basically, I say to myself, if something consistently puts me in a such an unabashed state of joy, then it is good for me and everyone else in my life. From there I can follow a train of thought into what creates that deep seated joy and how can I create more in my life. For me, the answer to that question is easy. It is service.

I would like to suggest to all our readers that you note where you are joyful in life, and why, and give more attention in 2009 to those areas.

Judy Warner