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An article I read recently inspired me about joy not having to be an intense experience and how cultivating awareness of “okayness” is a valid path to well-being.

Unamplified states of gratitude and appreciation for the “little things” in life go a long way to de-stressing the system and allowing the body and mind to restore.

I think it is a part of the human condition to strive for the intensity of feelings, a way of creating a narrative of grandness and transcendence that rises above the normal, the mundane, or average.

It is born out of numbness to routine and a sort of blanking out of the repetitive or regular, much like retinal fatigue or from rubbing an earlobe. Society’s highest expectations and rewards are given to those living the most outrageous and intense lives, and we all have embraced this paradigm as a judgment on how we measure up. You know, the “star” factor.

Modern psychologists would chalk these attitudes up to bad mental health, and here’s why:

Most of what happens to us in our daily lives certainly is unremarkable. Yet, we seem to measure our joy or happiness by how intense our perceptions are as we prioritize extreme events.We’ve all heard people say, “It was really dangerous, but I’ve never felt so alive.” The reality of this is that if this danger we speak of makes us feel so alive kept going without respite—its stress would certainly kill us.

Another aspect to this is finding fault with experiences, judging them as “boring” or “monochromatic” or “disappointing” in some way. It’s a mindset with an expectation of intensity that sets a standard against which all experiences must measure up. This is validated with TV dramas, big movie adventures, and sweeping novels—all stimulating our nervous systems and exacerbating our sense of the extreme. Our lives, by comparison, indeed become dull.

Everything science tells us about the human mind-body system is that excitement, danger, peak experiences are all stressful to the body. It causes the restorative systems to shut down, the adrenaline fight-or-flight systems to ramp up, and leads to cell damage and oxidative stress injuries. As a result, the life of the adrenaline junkie is certain to be shorter and less satisfying over the long term.

As an alternative approach, start to become aware of these conditions:

>> At this moment, nothing hurts.

>> Right now, I am not upset, and I’m not suffering.

>> Nothing is bothering me at this moment.

>> I don’t need anything right now.

>> I’m fine with the way things are right now.

>> I’m grateful for just being able to be.

>> I appreciate everything around me at this moment.

When we start breaking it down like this, it becomes apparent that what is causing our well-being and happiness is happening at every moment. Lifting all the judgments about how we’re not living up some “superman” or “superwoman” intensity allows us to become aware of and enjoy those small moments to ourselves. It will enable these moments to rise to equal priority with moments of passion.

I’m not saying one shouldn’t strive for something fantastic in their life or plan big adventures. I’m saying that the time between the intensities of life is just as valuable, if not more. In terms of body repair and mental well-being, we forget that this is important amidst all the bombardment of MMA fighting, 200 MPH car races, superhero blockbusters, acid trips, and rock star stadium concerts.

Additionally, in these chaotic days of mental, emotional, and spiritual warfare, it has become a vital part of human health to seek out and find that moment where we can lean into the great silence of divine presence, and find that rock of equipoise that keeps us centered in the transcendence of the mundane. It is that merciful place in all hearts where there is unconditional forgiveness, all-encompassing love, and inspiring awe for the process of becoming our greater self.

The current great war is for our souls, and we lose that war to the degree we allow ourselves to be shut out of our own hearts. The broadcast of emotional polarities and cognitive dissonance traps us in a morass of inner chatter, emotional conundrums, and outer conflict, weaponizing our own socialization and common sense against us.

The way out is taking a moment to simply drop down into the heart space to experience silence in divine equipoise, spiritual connection, and the direct experience of God. The meme of the time is, “God is all of us,” but it can only be felt in the heart.

The heart is the agent of order, harmony, and cosmic love and is immediately available to anyone who can wake up long enough to regain their situational awareness and embrace it. This is where the controllers are waging their war, knocking us off our basic instincts to love, connect, and simply be. By taking a moment in that silence of being, we defeat the agents of control and destruction, leaving them to scurry back under their rocks of deceit and obfuscation, terrified of their own reflection in our infinite mirror of pure being.

That moment of being is where freedom lives—where the unconquerable power of love and connection to all beings ushers us into a grand new world of sovereignty, creativity, and service. It is the gateway to who we truly are: immortal, indestructible, conscious points of light. We come in peace to create peace. We come in love to create a world of love, and we come into ourselves to be the greatest of who we are.

So, just take a moment to have a moment.

~