I have a yellow Orchid in my bedroom. This plant has gone through many phases, but it stopped flowering about two years ago. Within the past few months, I’ve noticed the stems drying up and big flat leaves at the bottom dying off. I’ve continued to water it, even though it is an unsightly plant. I’m not comfortable throwing plants out just because they’re no longer “pretty”. Anyhow, about two weeks ago this “dying” orchid let out a brand new branch, out of a dying branch. This branch began to grow and inch closer to the sun, comfortable in the warmth and temperature of the room. Soon enough, four beautiful blossoms are now weighing down this delicate branch. As I wait in excitement for a burst of yellow and pink colors to expose themselves on my little friend, I would like to share with you the lessons I’ve received from my observation.

The old can be very ugly. It can house a lot of pain, resentment, fears, abandonment, loss, deceit and this list goes on and on. We’ve all been through undesirable experiences in our pasts, some of us through more traumatic events than others. We carry these battle wounds with us deep in the subconscious mind and therefore in our emotions, thought patterns and even physical bodies. This weight of death, the belief in pain and in that which is not possible, takes away from the beauty in our life. Instead of waking up to living a life that is in alignment with beauty, joy and all the things that make existence fun, we work at jobs we don’t like, hold on to relationships that don’t serve us, treat ourselves in ways that aren’t loving and develop unhealthy addictions to cover up the “ugliness” in our lives.

Based on the lesson that my Orchid gave me, I see now that every biological intention is expansion into more beauty and joy. In fact, every human being is meant to live a life full of happiness, in which he is expressing his joy and creating more of it in his life. This joy is able to reach thousands of people. This is because we are all connected. My thoughts, moods, words and emotions affect everyone around me. When I am stressed and unhappy, it is not possible for me to have a positive impact on the people in my life. It is now more important than ever that we recognize what brings more joy into our lives and actually begin doing those things. Sometimes this will mean that we have to let other things go in order to embrace our authentic new reality. People, habits, jobs, projects, thought patterns and so forth, will need to fall away to make room for the new to come forward.

How do we embrace this joy that is the intention of every living thing? Just like I have to give my Orchid space and love to bloom, we too must understand that happiness takes time. When we are consistent with loving ourselves by surrounding ourselves with positive people, healthy activities and joyful experiences we allow stress, trauma, blockages and physical ailments to live out a much shorter life cycle. We are then able to go in the direction of what we love and who we are, versus staying with that which is unpleasant and heavy to carry.

In conclusion, I call forth all my readers to bring more joy into your lives by doing that which brings you joy. Prioritize your joy and know that if something is not bringing happiness into your life, it might just not be worth your energy or time!