Joy and Love

A couple weeks ago, Berna and I went to a concert by the legendary Dutch orchestra leader, Andre Rieu. Because it was in his hometown of Maastricht, Netherlands, it was pretty special and spectacular.

Andre has a gift for making his music a powerfully joyful and fun experience for everyone. And this old world of ours certainly needs more joy and fun! As he says, “My concerts are about joy and love.”

Spirit

If we said you were all meant to experience lives of joy and love, would you believe us?

That certainly is not the experience of most humans. If it is your experience, you are indeed a rare human.

Johnny remembers a story he heard long ago. It goes like this:

There was a factory where workers were paid little and worked hard.

At closing time each day, there was a guard at the exit door. His job was to ensure none of the workers were stealing anything from the factory as they left for the day.

There was one particular worker the guard always stopped to be sure he wasn’t carrying any stolen goods in his wheelbarrow.

After many months of stopping this worker, and not finding any stolen goods, the exasperated guard finally asked the worker a question. “Look, he said, I know you’re stealing something. If you’ll tell me, I won’t report you.”

The worker smirked, and replied, “I’m stealing wheelbarrows.”

The guard had failed to see what was in clear, plain sight.

So our question for you is: What are you failing to see?

The answer is: All the joy and love life holds for you, right there in clear, plain sight.

You fail to see the joy and love because you are looking for all the sadness and hatred out there.

As a spiritual teacher Johnny knew many years ago used to tell her students, “You have garbage eyeballs.”

It’s time to let go of your garbage eyeballs, and open your eyes to the only reality there is—the God-given gift of a life filled with joy and love.

Copyright © 2022 by John Cali and Berna Copray
Edited by Berna Copray

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In this short video, you get a good sense of the joy and love Andre’s music brings not only to his hometown of Maastricht, but to the whole world.

Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

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