Delight

Delight:

         Love consists in desiring to give what is our own to another and feeling his delight as our own.- Emanuel Swedenborg

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. - Kahlil Gibran

Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them? - Rose Kennedy

Continuing with the journey among the various colors of our rainbow of emotions, somewhere after being composed and acknowledging to take back a little control of life, it’s normal to swing back to the dark too. But what is more important is to keep swinging atleast initially. It’s like a trapeze where you set yourself in motion so that eventually you may be able to cross to the other side. And when it comes to swinging from the dark emotions to the lighter, brighter ones, ‘Delight’ is the trapeze that can be used initially.

Most people often confuse delight with happiness. While happiness is a state, delight is a situation. But still its happiness that is linked to things, places and memories thereby robbing them of the delight that they may still continue to give. Try offering to take a recently heart broken person to a place often frequented by the person and partner, and the person will definitely suffer going to a place which once used to be so special for them. This is where people not only end up in state of despair, they rather create a system around them to remain in that dark state too. If we are able to de-link this and still able to derive delight out of the things, places or even people we rightfully do justice to the dark emotions too. 

Because experiencing dark emotions is not wrong. It’s just that experiencing or continuing to experience them even more than they deserve is wrong. And deep down in all our hearts we know how much do they deserve.

Its of course tough to give up the state of Inner peace and risk it again with dark emotions in trying to look for bright ones , but this is where Delight comes to rescue. Just because delight is not a permanent state, it becomes easy for people to return back to their state of inner peace and their own recluse. At the same time they start experimenting and gaining confidence too. Going for that trip all alone to the exotic location, trying the adventurous white water rafting to going out and talking to strangers and help them with directions to calling up once-upon a time – out of touch – friends for a coffee can be some of the ways of delighting oneself. Getting drenched in a sudden downpour, to mid night walk on a summer night, to jogging on a chilly winter morning can be the natural sources of delight.

The moment we try to derive happiness from the correct source than the self perceived deception makes it a delightful experience than a torturous one. If coffee is really good, it should continue delighting you irrespective of whom you may or may not share it with. If sharing is what delights you, it should continue delighting you irrespective of whom you may share it with. Do not regret the absence of person who once used to have the same coffee with you. Because it was basically the coffee that you liked then and still like along with the company of other person. You may say that the company is no longer there, but then you also need to see that the coffee is still there. Do not punish coffee for the absence of the other person.

The moment we confuse the source of our delight is the moment we create a misery in our life leading to a vicious circle of dark unwanted emotions. After all life is balancing the emotions, feeling them as and when they are supposed to be felt in the exact measure they should be. Any malpractice we may do in this fine scale of life, will make life charge us with interests and compound interest of the same. 

And gaining delight after a period of dark state, or even inner peace is not cheating on you. As said you need to do it, because it needs to be done. It may be an unknown territory but it still needs to be explored until you are convinced to stay in that new found source of happiness. The best sources of delight are children. Innocent children who have still not learned to distinguish the good from the bad, the safe from hurting are the best source of delight. Even while crying if something gives them pleasure they don’t shy away from smiling or laughing. This is delight.

Hence it is important for us to create instances, situations and to be around people who can delight us and help us to reach a state we want to be in, a state where we should be. A state of continuous delight – known as bliss.

Just as the purpose of sun is to give light, the purpose of moon is also to give light, except their intensities are different. Same is with sharing a nice coffee with someone we like, to having it alone. Only the intensity can differ. The delight factor always remains.

Happy Holidays.