Finding Love, Finding Joy, by Klaus Joehle

Klaus Joehle is familiar to subscribers of the Spirit of Ma'at as a contributor and as the author of the book that became an Internet phenomenon, Living on Love: The Messenger. In his groundbreaking and amazing book, Klaus tells how he gave up working at jobs and learned how to support himself by (would you believe) winning at the sports lottery! Klaus sent this article for inclusion in Messages of Hope, feeling perhaps that it might be of help to those of us who are responding to the weight of current events. We hope you will enjoy it, and the inexpressible light and love that its author radiates. The true source of experiencing enormous love and joy lies in one act: discovering and following what excites us the most in any given moment each day, all day. Unfortunately for many of us, we spend much of our days following and doing what we have come to believe we need to do, rather than what truly excites us and what would, for that very reason, end up bringing us the joy and love we seek. Can we truly expect to experience enormous joy, happiness, and love in our lives if the first concern we have in the morning upon wakening is to be on time to a job that does not bring us joy and excitement? If 70 percent of our days are filled with activities that do not bring us joy, excitement, and love, then the remaining 30 percent cannot compensate for that. All the seminars, books, meditation, and affirmations are not going to help. Yet the more time we spend doing things that do not truly bring us joy and excitement, the more money we spend trying to compensate for our growing unhappiness, and this ends up bringing us more debt. So the end result is that we are tied even more into working at what we dislike. It is a self-defeating circle. Doing the things that excite us is the only way that we will ever experience ourselves overflowing with joy and love. The Chain Reaction Following our excitement is not one large step, like quitting our job and spending our days sitting under a palm tree. That is not following our excitement. That is escaping. There is a big difference between following the things that truly excite us and doing things to escape from a life that does not bring us joy. The trick is to find, in each moment, the things that would bring us the most excitement, and then do whatever we can to follow that excitement, even in the smallest way. This causes a chain reaction. Here is an excellent example of an individual following her excitement and the chain reaction it causes. Sandy's Story About a year ago, an individual we'll call Sandy wrote me that she had read my book Living on Love: The Messenger, but stated that sending love had no results for her. After several emails, we discovered that most of her time consisted of going to a job she thoroughly disliked and that barely supported her financially. I suggested that spending so much time doing what she disliked would not bring about enormous joy and love in her life, no matter what else she did. Her dream, she said, was to travel. But that was financially impossible. I suggested that she be more precise about what she wanted, because just traveling might be an escape. Sandy wrote back stating that perhaps the simple idea of traveling was an escape from her life; that what she really had the desire to do was to discover old buildings and other landmarks — and look into how they were built, who might have built them, and what the builders' lives might have been like. At that, I wrote back asking why, since hundreds of people came each day as tourists to the very city where she lived, she could not begin following her joy by pretending that she, herself, was a tourist in her own city. She could begin following her excitement right where she was. I didn't hear back from her for several months. Then I received a long email explaining that she had done what I had suggested. Sandy began to pretend that she was a tourist in her own city, exploring and discovering the things that really interested her. First she just went as a visitor, viewing old, abandoned buildings, houses, mines, and farmsteads. Then she bought a used camera and started taking pictures of these buildings, and doing short write-ups of her research. The result? Universities, newspapers, museums, and architects now seek her pictures and research! She has now become a photographer, and also conducts tours for architects and architectural students. Her income has more than tripled, and she is now thinking of returning to school in order to become an architect. Following her excitement created a chain reaction, constantly bringing Sandy more and more things to be excited about. Prepare to Be Surprised Following our excitement also becomes a journey of self-discovery. For example, Sandy had not known that she would be so interested in architecture. We don't always know exactly what would eventually bring life our greatest joy. That is something we discover by following our excitement even in the smallest ways. What would bring you the most excitement and joy right now? Do as much of it as you can. Then, again, ask yourself, What can I do now that I would find exciting and would bring me joy? And do this again, as much as you can, always keeping one eye open for another opportunity. By following our excitement, we are following the guidance of the larger part of us. Without realizing it, when we do this we are actually heading toward the discovery of our highest and most joyful path in life. You can visit Klaus and Roberta Joehle at geocities.com/livingonluv.