I found joy again in my life,
Though things had taken a sudden nosedive,
In folding clothes, I came to see,
How presence can set the spirit free.
***
No one can truly count how many times in their life they’ve folded clothes—or how many total hours have been spent doing so. For most people, including myself in the past, it felt like a chore—something that had to be done, but not something to be enjoyed.
But one fine morning, I decided to dedicate time to folding clothes—right when I was facing a major obstacle in my personal life, the kind that could easily rob someone’s joy bank. I reminded myself to be present, put on a song, and allowed myself to become fully absorbed in the moment.
Next thing I knew, a joyful song began playing as I folded, and my entire body felt it. In that fleeting moment, I wasn’t thinking. Not about my life’s countless “problems,” not about the future, not replaying the past. I had accessed something beyond thought—a portal to presence—yes, through folding clothes!
Soon after, I stumbled upon a quote from my spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle:
“Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within.” – Eckhart Tolle
That quote rang true. In the past, I often turned to external things—a sweet drink, a new piece of clothing—to generate fleeting pleasure. But joy? Joy runs deeper. It’s lasting. And it can be found in the simplest of daily actions.
The key isn’t to chase joy. The key is to stop thinking—and just be.