Q: What is the difference between joy and happiness?
A: Joy is the full and complete release of your feelings.

Q: Am I happy?
A: Yes.

Q: Am I joyful?
A: Yes and no.

Q: How yes?
A: There is joy within you.

Q: How no?
A: Release.  

Q: What do I release?
A: Joy. Your mind’s stories.  Allow joy.

Q: What stories do I have?
A: That your happiness is at the expense of others.

Q: Why do I have this story?
A: Your past.  Your perception of the past.

Q: How can I undo the past?
A: Allow the past to have happened.  The meaning you assigned then is not true today.  Keep the past, release the stories.

Q: I have hurt others in the past.  
A: It’s ok.

Q: I have been hurt.
A: It’s ok.

Q: What is in the past that I can’t let go?
A: Everything.

Q: What is in the future?
A: Even more.

Q: What’s in the present?
A: Only joy.
Find joy in all the things.  It is the path to your purpose, in being.
The purpose of your being is written in the stars.  See them shine as you would, for they exist even when your eyes are closed.  Their light is always with you.
Your joy is yours alone, independent in its being.  It may touch upon others, who carry their own joy.  Your joy does not take away from others.  It does not diminish or elevate another’s suffering.  Carry your joy within your heart and it shall appear outside of you.  Let the joy bring forth your spirit. The truest form of love exists without boundaries.  Fully release the joy, and see it envelope your soul.

Q: Am I doing what brings me joy?
A: Yes.

Q: At what expense? 
A: You need not sacrifice anything, in joy.  Joy is love.

Q: Am I stopping myself from success?
A: Only in the success that others have defined for you.

Q: Why?
A: To validate their stories. 

Q: Why do I do this, if I know my own heart?
A: Comfort in security.

Q: Should I worry about money right now?
A: Worry will not change the future.  It’s a distraction from your present joy. Money is a thing. It is not your joy.  It will come.  It will show up as you need it.

Q: Is that being irresponsible
A: That is another’s opinion that you may let go.   Live from a place of gentle loving kindness.  The rest will come.

Q: How can I know I’m doing the right thing?
A: You already know.

Q: Sometimes I feel insecure about it.
A: External.

Q: My insecurity is external?
A: Your doubts lie within other people’s perception of you.  Your knowing lies within.  The knowing, the love, the being.  Those are yours to have and to hold.  Your mind seeks a problem to solve, where there is none.

How can I be a better parent? You need not be better.

How do I know I’m doing the right thing? Children are their own beings who will grow from their experiences.  They are where they are meant to be, with you.
You need not make decisions based on a possible future outcome.  Act with them and decide in the now. That moment holds your truest love and from that, they will prosper.    There is no prediction for how a human will evolve.  Allow them to live their own purpose. Lighten your responsibility for their entire human life.  You are there to love them.  Have fun with that.

What about my every day responsibilities? That can be fun too.

What about when it’s not fun for me? That’s ok. Forgive and allow. Move forward to the next moment. And next. And next. It’s now. And now. And now.

How do I teach theme everything I know? You don’t know as much as you think you know.  Allow their evolution, independent of yours.

What am I here for, then, as their parent? You are here to love.

Do they need more? What is there, above love?

What if I fail them? You cannot.

What if it feels like it? The knowing is stronger than the feeling.

Am I overthinking this? Yes.

How do I release the fear? First, release the judgement.  Others cannot walk your shoes.  Allow them to make judgments based on their own lives.  It’s ok.  You need not carry them with you.

Will they be ok? We are all ok.  In this moment and for all time.

you are where you are

& you’ll be where you’ll be.

The place in between

is the thing that you’ll see.

& the place that you know

is that place where you’ll go

When you flow & you flow

& you flow and you flow.

be still, sweet child.

the knowing in your heart is the thing that gets you here.

you want to get through this time;

try getting here, instead.

come here, have a seat in the present, and in the presence of your truth.

your truth is where you’ll find peace, joy, happiness, sadness, grief, even pain.

let it be.

choose your feelings over the swirl of confusion that occurs when you mix inner voice with external circumstances; your truth with the stories of others; the past and the future with the present.

let it be, let it all be.

the weight of the world is not yours to be.

you can make your own impact, even in stillness.