Ruminating with Rumi
Awareness and joy co-exist. To be aware is to know joy. Joy comes with awareness. They are one and the same. You are joy. You are discrete awareness. There is no separation but in the words. From awareness and joy come emptiness and serenity. With them comes peace.
You want peace. You seek peace from your judgments. To find peace, release the past. Peace is in the moment. Some imagine forgiveness as a way forward, but it is the past that you imagine. The past is in your mind from thoughts to which you cling. Break the attachments that still bind you. You have left much behind. Now leave the rest. You have no need of the past in the moment. If forgiveness comes from grace, as some say, then grace is of your own doing. Leave the dead in their graves. Let peace be your constant companion.
Peace comes from knowing joy. Find joy in the moment. Joy cannot leave you. You cannot leave joy behind. Joy is your teacher. It is wisdom in the world. It is the light that leads you from darkness. Let your mind be an empty vessel. The serenity will unlock your heart. Joy pours forth from emptiness and serenity to be mercy and understanding. Let your open heart be an eternal spring of wisdom in the world. You are no longer a form. You are joy.