Someone saw one of my Facebook posts about hanging out by the fire pit in the wee hours of the morning and asked me if it really does make a difference in my life to start each day with time to myself just being still. I said that for me it is the key to the path of joy. But they said, “I just don’t see how stillness equals joy.” To which I replied, “Ah, yes, I can see how that might be confusing. Stillness isn’t joy. Rather, it’s the first step down the path which leads to joy.”

And just in case any of you are interested, it sorta works like this:

To have joy you have to be content.

To be content you have to thrive.

To thrive you must create.

To create you have to imagine.

To imagine you have to play.

To play you have to be childlike

To be childlike you have to grow

To grow you have to learn

To learn you have to be teachable

To be teachable you have to be humble

To be humble you have to be honest with yourself

To be honest with yourself you have to listen to your innermost voices.

To listen you have to be fully present

To be fully present you have to be still.

And so, in addition to all the busyness that your summer undoubtedly brings, I hope you find some time for yourself.

I hope you find some time to be still and listen and find your joy.

And then, I hope you get up and go build yourself a beautiful life.