“Make every day a day of joy.

Dance, play, day and night…

Cherish the child who grasps your hand.

Let your wife rejoice in your bosom

For this is the fate of man.”

-The Epic of Gilgamesh

I’m sitting at my desk and drinking coffee. Its bitter, but I sip it with intention to enjoy the taste, notice the flavor, and make the act special.

The ability to just feel joy is an active choice.

To taste my morning coffee, enjoy opening a new book, greeting my wife in the morning with a hug and kiss, having dinner with the family—all these acts I try to come to with excitement and enthusiasm. Some days it is easier than others, but the sheer act of intention works to make an action important. Intent with enthusiasm opens joy for our lives.

The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek, enthous, which means “possessed by god, inspired.” To come to an activity, inspired, make the world a wonderful place.

The American philosopher, John Dewey, wrote a book on aesthetics called Art As Experience that easily explains how we come to the work of art and experience it: the art has potential poured into it from the artist; we have our life experience poured into us. Combining the art and our viewing, the viewer, creates and experience that is more than the two things separate. To me, this is also how we can lead our lives. If we come to an activity, intent to have inspiration and enthusiasm, we are living the moment that is pregnant with joy. Literally we can breath life into an activity.

Naturally, we breath life into all our activities. Often, though, it is without consciousness. Still the energy we bring does create that “experience.” For example, if you walk into a room where people quietly sit, the energy of the room shifts. If you begin to speak in a loud voice, people look up at you If you laugh, perhaps people will smile. If you yell, people may fear. And life, though much more cluttered than an empty room, still has this flow of energy.

Each moment, like each person, is present with potential. You can select the potential you bring to the moment: will you be active or passive? All of life is choice. In fact, I’ve been told that life is a result of the choices we have made; even not making a choice i making a choice.

One of the oldest books in the world, the I Ching (or The Book of Changes), originally written around the time Homer was writing, the book presents the ideas of working with the power of yin and yang.

Yin: the receptive

Yang: the active

Of course, this is a gross simplification. But it helps us to understand that sometimes we move with life and are receptive and sometimes we are active. When I’m looking at a sunset, I am yin, receptive, absorbing all that I can f that moment and letting it act upon me, move me, create joy within me. When I¥m running a marathon, in contrast, I’m active and literally trying to change the environment around me. Holding a child, I may be very yin in feeling the soft skin; teaching a child, I will be yang and explain, quiz, and check for understanding. Sometimes, listening to a good piece of music, I may let it wash over me, being totally receptive, and others, I will actively listen to the chords, repetitions, modulations, and interpretation in an active manner.

Rather than a noun, I like to use yin and yang as verbs: sometimes you YIN, sometimes you YANG.

When you yang, you’re the active agent who creates the moment, who can really pour into the moment all the emotions of the universe. When I walk into give a speech, the energy from the universe pours through me and I say what is needed and try to expand the listener’s mind.

The other side is to yin. When I watch the sunset, I wait, watch, and absorb all the beauty that nature pours into that moment.

And that’s your choice: yang or yin? Which do you do? It need not be an ancient Chinese mystery, and there is no right answer. You can use such an idea in a much more practical, easy manner. You are an active agent or a passive agent. Within the pregnant moment, you chose to act or receive. Many of our entertainments, such as watching sports, surfing the internet, television binging, killing time on social media are all passive activities. In themselves, for a short relaxation, they are a welcome distraction from a hectic life, but over indulging throws our yang and yin balance out of order. In contrast, over working, multi-tasking, excessive driven behaviors, are over activity and just as destructive to a balanced life.

I’d be hypocritical if I said that we are looking for balance. As an entrepreneur and self-proclaimed runaholic, my life is anything but the Buddhist Middle-Way. What I wish to give to you is the idea that there is a choice. Within the present, generate enthusiasm for the activity and decide to shape the moment or receive how the moment is presented, or even both if applicable. The choice is yours. Having the intention and living in the moment to create it or receive the creation opens a great variety of experience for you, building a life filled full of joy and rich experience.

Sweet Success: Take out your journal and complete these sentences:

-What 5 things do you do that waste your time?

-What 5 things do you yang/active that build rich experiences?

-What 5 things do you yin/passive that build rich experiences?

-What 5 things could you be doing more of in your life to build rich experiences?