This morning I took my dog and yoga mat down by the water to nourish myself with sun, wind and waves. I have recently moved into a townhouse 100 yards from the beach and the move itself, like all moves in my experience, has being demanding. I have been very focused on the logistics of the experience, as well as maintaining my work commitments and attending to the changing needs of my family. My schedule has been constant, and so to take an hour to stop the busyness and be with the lake was something I needed badly. I had been so busy working to create my joy, I was forgetting to feel it.

Yesterday was one of the hottest days of the summer in Toronto, and in the last week of August, it seemed like the whole city came down to the boardwalk, both to to escape the heat and at the same time celebrate what we all know will not last. The grueling, deep cold of last winter still lives in the memory of all Torontonians.

As I returned home, body now alert and calm thanks to the yoga, feet bare in my reluctance to let go of the touch of the earth, a jogger ran past me, sweat shining from his smiling face. As he caught my eye he spoke the customary, “Have a great day” and continued on his way. As he proceeded along the boardwalk I heard that he greeted everyone he encountered in the same way, with the same genuine and radiant delight. As I returned to my home for breakfast I carried his presence with me. I wonder what he is doing now and how the rest of his day filled up in response to his generous offering on his morning run? I wonder how many received his words fully, and how many dared to respond? I wonder how far the ripples of his happiness traveled in this big, cold city, on a hot August day?

It is so easy to become caught in the mind, in our duties and the details of the stories that rule our lives. How powerful it is to be pulled into the moment by an offering of joyfulness, to let go of the past and the future too, to reside in the immense power of the Now and all the beauty it holds. Our joy is not a byproduct, nor even an end result of hard work or correct action. It is rather a choice, one that exists before us in every moment, every circumstance without exception. This profound realization may awaken us to the magnetic power of our alignment with the rightness of our world. We let go the battle, even for a moment, and feel the indescribable relief as our resistance ends. We take back the “ornariness”, as Abraham would say, that wastes our precious energy, and instead we softly slide into a much greater truth. How we experience every moment is our choosing, not the result of a helpless, passive reflex. And with this awareness, we are set free to align ourselves with the very dreams which seemed so elusive when we walked as slaves to the cruel and invisible masters of our lives.

Thank you to that lovely man in the running shoes. May our beautiful city fill up with others like him, and perhaps the coming winter will not feel quite so cold.

Talk to Adi here.