It is easy enough to pray when you are in distress, but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its attainments.

Recalling these teachings as I ride my bike so freely in the sunset through Bali, I keep making prayers that are vows, presenting my state of harmony to God and saying,” This is what I would like to hold on to, please help me memorize this feeling of contentment and help me always support it”. I am putting my happiness in the bank somewhere, not merely FTIC protected, but guarded by my four spirit brothers, held there as the insurance against my future trials in life. This is a practice I've come to call “diligent joy”. As I focus on diligent joy, I also keep remembering the simple idea my friend Darci told me once that all the sorrow and trouble of this world is caused by unhappy people, not only in a big and global Hitler and Stalin picture, but also on the smallest personal level. Even in my own life, I can see exactly where my episodes of unhappiness have brought suffering or distress or, at the very least, inconvenience to those around me. The search for contentment is therefore not merely a self-preservation and self-benefiting act, but also a generous gift to the world. Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way, you see, being an obstacle, not only to yourself, but to anyone else. Only then are you free to serve and enjoy other people.

здобутки - attainments

дотримуватися - to hold on to

обітниця - vow

“здобуття радості” - “diligent joy” внутрішня втіха - contentment