What Is Your Secret To Finding Joy At Such An Old Age?

“What is your secret to

finding joy

At such an old age?” she asked.

Her eyes sparkled.

“I take what I love

from each age:

what I loved

at age five,

at age eighteen,

and at every age

I have ever been before—

and I bring it with me

into this age,

into the present moment.

And here, in this moment,

I experience joy

outside of time.

For the shortest path to sadness

is believing that

all the wonder and joy

you have ever dreamed of

and longed to experience,

exists outside this present moment.

While the shortest

path to happiness

is believing

that it is already here—

and removing anything

that tells you otherwise:

that you cannot be happy

right now, as you are.”

Words by Tahlia Hunter

Artwork by Catrin Welz-Stein