“Nothing,” he answered. “I just love your name. That’s all.” Then he looked up toward the ceiling and said, Thank you. The signs were clear. He realized that less than two weeks ago he had been cursing the heavens for bringing all the misfortune and misery into his life and now they were on his side guiding him and showing him the path every step of the way. He understood how everything, including the good and bad had brought him to this moment. If he had never gotten a flat tire he would never have met Joy. If he hadn’t gone through all the adversity and challenges at work he would never have wanted to learn how to better lead his team.

Now his career and future were brighter than he could have ever imagined. If his wife hadn’t threatened to leave him he never would have realized how bad things were and how good they could be. What he had thought was bad, he now realized led to good. Joy had told him that everything happens for a reason, and while he couldn’t see it while he had been going through it, now everything was crystal clear.

Life is a test. Every adversity helps us grow. Negative events and people teach us what we don’t want so we can focus our energy on what we do want. George made a mental note that the next time he faced a problem at work, because he knew there would always be new challenges, he would not let the problem sweep him up and swirl him around like a tornado. Rather from now on he would ask, What can I learn from this challenge? What is it teaching me? Then he would stay positive and trust that the lessons would make him stronger, wiser, and better.

The woman behind the counter gave him his keys and said, “Enjoy your car, Sir. I bet you are glad to have it back.”

George thanked her as he walked outside toward his car with the word “enjoy” lingering in his mind. He thought it was amazing how joy kept coming up in his life and how it flowed through him right now and spoke to his heart. It told him not to focus too much on the places he has been but only to learn from the past. It said, Do not focus on the future because the future brings only what the present gives it. Rather, his heart whispered, Focus on the path. Keep your head up and your heart full of joy. George realized that for all the lessons he had learned the past two weeks the greatest lesson of all had been right in front of him. It hadn’t been something that must be said but something that had been experienced and felt. He knew that no matter where his energy bus took him and whatever roadblocks lay ahead, all he had to remember was to allow joy to flow through him and savor every moment and mile on his journey. If he filled his life with joy, his work with joy, and his home with joy, oh what a life he would live and oh what a ride it would be. With joy everything would flow better and easier.

As George drove his newly repaired car home, he made a commitment to himself to experience the joy in everything he did. Whether he was working on a project at work or spending time with his kids at home he told himself that he would ask, Where’s the joy in this moment? Do I feel it? How can I experience more joy right now? He had experienced what it was like to ride on Joy’s bus and now he would make the feeling of joy a permanent passenger on his bus.

George reached for his cell phone and called his mother. She had just finished her latest bout with chemo and George knew she could use some joy right now. He wanted to tell her to enjoy every moment she had left whether it was six months or six years. He wanted to tell her to savor the joy of every second and fill up with love not fear during this challenging time and every day of her life thereafter. He hoped somehow his own joy could relieve her of her anger and pain. But when she picked up the phone George knew he didn’t need to say any of those things. It wasn’t something he could teach with words. It was something she needed to experience. He knew all he needed to say was, “I love you” from the depths of his heart.