Aliveness and Harmony

 I suppose it's a matter of what is meant by inner work.  I think of inner work as including the ongoing process of discovering and facing and accepting more of myself, integrating, realizing that I am one with others and all that is, developing compassion.  That kind of inner work is significant, not 'merely inner work.'  Perhaps the author sees those activities as more than inner work.  Aliveness can also be defined in various ways.  There are different kinds of aliveness.  I think an important kind of aliveness is waking up, enjoying enhanced awareness, feeling one with all that is.  In my description, the inner work and aliveness have come together.  I suppose aliveness can be reached by many roads, all of which provoke or stimulate me to be more -- more alive, more integrated, more conscious, more in union.  I resist the notion that one's state of harmony depends entirely on one's harmony with one's surroundings -- I resist dependence and I resist the notion that my state of harmony depends on harmony with my surroundings.  I think I have felt inner harmony when not in harmony with my surroundings, though I think the harmony was limited or partial.  I guess  the greatest harmony is when both inner and outer harmony are present.  I suppose that is ideal.  I became very intellectual and feeling less harmonious within myself, so I'll stop. 

I agree with you that both harmony is very important. When one decides to celebrate an event, the moment the decision takes place one becomes happy even before any preparation or invitation has been send out. From that very moment one is happy and goes on happily preparation of the celebration. That happiness is spread among others who join the preparation and so on.