The Secret of Life: Keep Moving

ELIZABETH DENLEY explores how joy supports our mental well-being in a troubled world, reshaping our response to pain and suffering.

It seems to me that joy is the pure awareness and celebration of our human existence and purpose. Joy brings with it an abundant heart that is light, moderate, balanced, and present in the moment. It is not loud, excitable, and attention-seeking; rather, it is a subtle current suffusing everything from within, flowing into everyday life from the depth of the heart. It is an expression of life force. 

My own personal experience of joy became more profound once I embarked on a conscious inner journey almost forty years ago. It was like rivulets joining to become a river, streaming toward a vast ocean with a natural, mighty flow.

The first book I read after embarking on that journey was Truth Eternal, written by Lalaji, a spiritual master born in nineteenth-century India. His words sang in my heart, creating new possibilities, despite the suffering and heartache of this world.

Lalaji exalted the soul and described it as “the instrument of joy. Nay! It is joy itself, and cannot exist without bliss and happiness.” He continued, “Happiness is not anywhere outside. It is in our fixing the attention, in the steadiness of disposition, and in the concentration of our mind. Those who know this secret need not search for happiness outside.” Lalaji saw spiritual happiness as “nothing but steadiness, settling, and peace.”

Did he mean that being joyful results in a life without challenge and pain? Not at all. They are necessary aspects of being in this world. Joy does not mean we always experience pleasure and are always happy; it is the undercurrent of soul in everything we do. 

Many mystics, philosophers, and writers around the world have understood this. Here are just a few quotes—there are many more:

“We need joy as we need air.
We need love as we need water.
We need each other as we need the earth we share.” 
—Maya Angelou

“Joy does not come from what you do,
it flows into what you do and thus into this world from deep within you.” 
—Eckhart Tolle

“True joy results when we become aware of
our connectedness to everything.” 
—Paul Pearsall

“When we are centered in joy,
we attain our wisdom.” 
—Marianne Williamson

“We cannot cure the world of sorrows,
but we can choose to live in joy.” 
—Joseph Campbell

“Find out where joy resides,
and give it a voice far beyond singing.
For to miss the joy is to miss all.” 
—Robert Louis Stevenson

“Finding joy is probably tantamount to
finding yourself and being comfortable in your own skin.” 
—Morgan Freeman

“Joy is the infallible sign of God’s presence.” 
—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

“When you do things from your soul,
you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” 
—Rumi

“When the mind is pure,
joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” 
—Gautama Buddha

“Do few things but do them well,
simple joys are holy.” 
—Francis of Assisi

“The beating heart of the universe is holy joy.”
—Martin Buber 

“The fullness of joy is to behold God in everything.”
—Julian of Norwich

“From joy I came,
For joy I live,
and in Thy sacred joy
I shall melt again.”
—Paramahamsa Yogananda

Osho told us that joy is a state of transcendence, where we are neither happy nor unhappy, but utterly peaceful, quiet, and in absolute equilibrium; that joy arises within and is the spontaneous flow of our own energy.

He also said that “life is very simple; it is a joyful dance. And the whole earth can be full of joy and dance… life is not a jail, it is not a punishment. It is a reward, and it is given only to those who have earned it, who deserve it. Now it is your right to enjoy; it will be a sin if you don’t enjoy… leave it a little happier, a little more beautiful, a little more fragrant.”

Swami Vivekananda reminded us that in every moment we are actually experiencing the joy of the soul. He said that wherever there is any joy, even the joy of a thief in stealing, it is that absolute bliss manifesting; it is just that it has become misunderstood and covered up. And the inner journey is the way to uncover it.

In the Heartfulness tradition, Babuji once told Chariji a great open secret, which he shared with us: “The secret of life is to keep moving.” In joy, we do not stay stuck. Like water, we flow, and we find ways around obstacles. When joy is uppermost in our lives, we are not crippled by the fear of suffering and struggle. And it happens very naturally when the soul is nurtured. 

This feels like a fulfilling way to live—to be joyful, bring joy to others, and ease their suffering in whatever ways we can. There will always be ups and downs in life, and overwhelming challenges that test our being. But we have the means to accept them all by living in a state of joy, of upasana, as Lalaji calls it. This is the beautiful possibility we have been given—to radiate joy and love to everyone and everything in this precious world. Lalaji often used to pray for the soul of the world, and that itself evokes such joy!

One evening, almost twenty years ago, in Chennai, India, a small group of us went to Elliot’s Beach with Chariji. Back then, it was a pristine beach with clear, unpolluted water and soft, yellow sand. The water was warm, and the waves were small, so we rolled our pants up to our knees and jumped waves together as the sun went down. After that, we played catch on the sand with a tennis ball. It was a glorious evening, filled with simple conversation and many silences. As we left the beach, Chariji said, “We need to play more often.”

Such joyful memories are wonderful, and yet, the Heartfulness tradition also encourages us to go beyond joy. As Daaji explains, “The next stage is bliss, immersion in the joy of the soul. What more could there possibly be after this? But bliss still involves the experience of “I.” So, the journey continues until there is no longer an “I.” Bliss too disappears. In ‘no-thing-ness’ the heart becomes infinitely empty and receptive.”