“Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” – Joseph Campbell

“If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.” – Carlos Santana

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Writing this blog item is for me. I, like all of us, have gone through many changes in my lifetime. Because I am older than many, I may have gone through more changes. Sometimes these changes bring sadness and sometimes they bring us joy. How to handle the change may be the key to balance.

Meditation is deep internal thought. To me, it is interchangeable with prayer. When I learned to breathe for the maximum of my body, it helped my concentration. Learning to be compassionate with ourselves is crucial to being our best. How we think, how we act, what we say, and how we feel are all controlled by our ability to say to ourselves, “I am the master of my mind, my heart, my mouth, my body. I can find how to learn/enjoy whatever change I am experiencing. The moment and the experience will change.

Never believe God has forgotten where you are physically, emotionally, or spiritually. When everyone seems to have their own challenges and no time to listen, He is there. Find Him, talk to Him, and ask for help through deep meditation. Being alone helps to know yourself. It helps to focus on a direction. It allows you to hear the whisper of the answers and feel the comfort. Hold on through negative change — good things will again come to you. Hold on through positive change — negative returns.

Balance=Joy