“When I emerged from the direct experience of who I am (at the retreat) I started to laugh. All of my worries about the future and my resentments about past hurts seemed, in that moment, very small when compared to the vastness of which I was a part. In that moment I knew that joy- real joy that does not deny what is hard in our lives- is a choice. Joy finds us when we feel the elation that comes when we know that we belong- to another, to ourselves, to the world, to the Mystery that is larger than ourselves."

—Oriah Mountain Dreamer from THE INVITATION© 1999 published by Harper San Francisco. All rights reserved. Presented with permission of the author