Two Paths to Joy
When Gandhi was asked, “In three words, what is your philosophy of life?” he replied, “Renounce and enjoy.” This quote speaks to the wisdom of non-attachment, to seeing through the illusion of a separate doer acting and reacting in a separate world. The renunciation is not of the world itself, but of egoic attachments.
A similar nondual invitation is to “welcome and enjoy,” which implies a level of openness to all that unfolds. If reality is a singular, indivisible consciousness, and everything is an expression of one awareness, one being, then there can be nothing separate from awareness. “Welcome and enjoy” offers more than letting go of attachments; it signifies an acceptance as well as an engagement with experience. So this is not a passive kind of acceptance, but a more dynamic openness. It is the recognition that every action, every reaction, is consciousness expressing itself.
The enjoyment here is not contingent on specific conditions being met. It is simply the joy of being, resting in a growing sense of clarity, contentment, and peace.
While both perspectives may lead to relief from psychological suffering, the distinction lies in their emphasis. “Renounce and enjoy” often implies a conscious act of stepping back from identification with egoic impulses and attachments in order to become inwardly free. This is a valid step for those entangled in the illusion of separation.
“Welcome and enjoy,” however, is not about detachment from life as much as it is about engagement with life, as life. It is to remain open to that which unfolds, recognizing that there is no separate entity doing the welcoming, only aware presence unfolding within itself as the welcoming.
To welcome and enjoy signifies an acceptance that transcends even the concept of renunciation, because fundamentally there is no thing separate to renounce. The enjoyment, then, arises not from releasing an egoic grip, but from realizing that the egoic grip is playing a necessary role in the unfolding reality.