The Joy of Living

What it means (and what it takes) to experience the wonder of life in the moment and live life to the full

Hi, I’m Sue and I write about the beauty and ingenuity of Nature, and how we can deepen our connection for our optimum health and wellbeing. Discover more Nature-inspired content on Spiral Leaf, Twitter and my video Nature Channel.

I recently wrote about the Joy of Beginning and how cultivating a Beginner's Mind is a wonderful way to reconnect ourselves with the present moment, rekindle our sense of curiosity and see the world as if for the first time through the eyes of our inner child. Learning the art of being takes ongoing practice and made me realise that bringing our consciousness to this level of awareness is key to experiencing the joy of living and living life to the full.

The aim of Beginner's Mind (or Zen Mind) is to clear the mind of troublesome thoughts and let them go without thinking about them or reacting to them. This is because thinking about things (past and present) takes us away from being present in the now which prevents us from enjoying life in the moment or making space to think things through calmly and rationally, if we need to.

Taming such thoughts when our brains are designed to solve problems and bring things to our attention, is not easy. The good news is that it can be done. You can learn how to stop the chatter, identify issues buried deep that need to be resolved, make friends with your ego and bring yourself back to a state of peace.

When we allow ourselves to keep going over what could or should have happened in the past or what might or might not happen in the future, we are not fully aware of what is happening in the moment and the simple joys in life can easily pass us by. Only when we make a conscious effort to live in the present can we become truly conscious of our true Self and what is going on around us.

Paying attention

Living in the present requires us to pay attention. It means noticing what we are thinking so that at any time we can clear the mind of unhelpful thoughts and tune into our senses. Only then can we become fully aware of the goodness in life - from a delicious aroma wafting through the air; to petals on a tiny flower; to sunshine streaming through the trees; to a kindly spoken word.

And then we realise these are the things that matter to us most. And that there are many (many) gifts in life we can feel grateful for. We also know that when we appreciate and enjoy such treasures in life, this is when we feel most alive.

On the matter of connecting with our senses, I recently found out that research has identified 20 or more other senses in the human body. These are in addition to the basic five that detect stimuli from the external world. They include proprioception (sense of body position), vestibular sense (balance) and interoception that allows us to perceive and interpret signals from within our body (internal sensations).

There is no question that heightened awareness is key in helping us to feel the joy of living. We know this simply by imagining the delicious tingle felt at the slightest tender touch; the thrill of anticipation as the hair on the back of your neck stands on end; the pleasure of savouring the taste of exquisite food, or the feeling of awe and wonder when something that strikes you as beautiful brings tears to your eyes.

Treasuring meaningfulness

In the Oxford Dictionary of English (Second Edition 2023), the primary definition for the word living is: an income sufficient to live on or the means of earning it. Secondary to this is: a type of living (with the example of a victor or rector provided). Then, lifestyle gets a mention with: the pursuit of a lifestyle of the specified type. Finally, we are given the example of living in the context of: Flowers were for the living - which hardly makes any sense at all.

As you can see, there is no mention of what it means to feel alive as a human being with over 20 different senses to connect us with our environment on a daily basis. In the shadow of untamed thoughts and unaddressed fears, this miraculous ability for us to experience the minutae (and the extremes) of being human are easily overlooked and unappreciated, meaning the joy of living slowly drains away.

Practising gratefulness

Despite the fact that dictionaries provide little insight into what living is, as a human experience, we know that living life is in fact a multi-faceted experience encompassing our body, mind, spirit and soul - represented by our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and sensual aspects of Self.

Taking time to think about things that trigger our emotions - the things that bring us joy, sadness or pain - is the best way to learn about yourself, heal yourself and bring more meaningfulness into your life. Noticing the small things and feeling grateful for them is the perfect start - and a highly effective daily practice.

Cultivating a Zen Mind, a Beginner's Mind and a more childlike approach to life, is a great way to live. And it's fun too! We are all here to learn and grow so why not make it an enjoyable and integral part of life rather than a chore? This is a sure way to experience the joy of living life and living life to the full.

Cultivating joyfulness

We have said that it is generally the simple things in our day-to-day lives that bring the most joy. When we tune into our awareness, we can find joy hiding in the first Strawberry of the season, in a song note trilled by a Blackbird or even a favourite pair of comfortable walking boots.

These things are easily missed when we are stressed or feeling down, and its up to us to calm ourselves, find our inner stillness and coax these small moments of joy back into our awareness as a matter of course.

I thought of some easy, interesting and fun ways to cultivate joyfulness to which I hope you will add your own:

• Embrace the moment

• Practice being still

• Tune into your senses

• Spend time in Nature

• Go for a long walk

• Play music and dance

• Sing your favourite song

• Breathe in the scent of a Rose

• Take time to pamper yourself

• Get a good night's sleep

• Make time for others

• Have fun with loved ones

• Make a child laugh

• Send a letter to a friend

• Smile at a passer-by

• Do something different

• Write a Gratitude Journal

There are so many ways we can tune in to appreciate ourselves and others, and the world around us. I believe this is what we are here for - to enjoy life. Why else would we have been given everything we need to feel so many different emotions and to express ourselves in so many different ways through them?

We were certainly not born to dismiss or disregard our feelings nor were we born to merely grind ourselves into the dust to earn a living. So, why not celebrate our given gifts - both within us and around us? By doing so, we not only make ouselves feel better, we help to make this world more joyful for everyone.

Savouring lifefulness

There is a word for living life to the full and experiencing the joy of living which is lifeful.

This is a more accurate definition for living because it means full of life, lively and animated. It means being full of or giving vitality which perfectly describes being alive because when we experience and appreciate the joy of living, we resonate at a much higher frequency.

The joy of living is the experience of connecting with life in the present moment and allowing ourselves to absorb and savour things that perhaps previously, we didn't make time for. When we feel gratitude for those things and enjoy them, this is what makes us feel good and enables us to express ourselves in the fullness of our true Self.

I hope you find lots of new ways to treasure meaningfulness, cultivate joyfulness and savour lifefulness. It will help to take the blues away and rekindle your sense of beginningness where life is an adventure and living life is a joy.

Thank you for bringing such joy by being here and for your patience. It took longer to write this post than anticipated. I hope it is a helpful an inspiring reminder for you to pause and take a breath a little more because you will feel so much better for it.

I hope you have a wonderful day and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Much love

Sue Xx

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Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - Informal talks on Zen meditation and practice by Shunryū Suzuki

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