The Joy is in the Journey

I hope you all had a great weekend and Happy Fathers Day to all the fathers here. Last weekend I went to visit my brother and his daughter (my niece) who live in Costa Rica. I don’t get to see her that often so when I do, the visit is all about her. During the short visit we probably played 30 games of Monopoly Junior. What struck me was as soon as the previous game ended (no matter the outcome) she would ask if we could play again. The answer was always yes with a smile between my brother and I as we set the game up to start again. 

Board games teach children a lot about navigating life. There are two factors that exist within all board games to varying degrees. The first factor is the chance factor; call it luck or the universe. How the dice lands and what the chance card says is set up to include a significant element outside our control. Then there is the skill part that comes with practice; playing out the scenarios over and over again looking for learning and experience to inform the next time one has that decision to make. These two factors together make the playing of the game fun and exciting. 

As I spent more time thinking about why she wanted to keep playing it made sense to me. She was enjoying the journey; the practice. It wasn’t about winning or losing or “completing” the game, it was about all she was experiencing during the playing; the highs and lows, the unexpected, the successes and failures. 

So what we practiced on the mat this past week was just that; experiencing the joy of practice. Connecting to the understanding that the Joy is IN the Journey itself.

I shared the “rules” of our game together. There were only two. They also happen to be the “rules” of a mindfulness practice; ATTENTION & INTENTION. First is paying attention to what the universe is offering in that moment; what our bodies are offering. We don’t have a lot of control over that so acceptance and understanding is key. Then we set an intention; a mindful decision based on the factors as they are; the ones both within and out of our control. On the mat it becomes a pairing between what is available in our bodies and then what our minds decide to do with that information. 

Off the mat it works in a similar way. When we can remember the “rules of the game”; ATTENTION & INTENTION, we can navigate life more presently and joyfully. Since the journey truly is the joy, what better game could we want to play?