Being Joy was created during an art class in 2011, the very first time I touched paint to canvas. Beginner's mind freed me from any constraints about color theory or composition and allowed me to relax into not-knowing. The result was an experience of being in flow which lasted the full two-hours of this painting class. I later found the Rumi poem that captured what I believe is true about joy - that it is inseparable from sorrow. I was struck by how well the painting and Rumi's poem fit together.