When I was little, I wondered about the kind of person who was called, “joyful.” I didn’t really know what such a person looked like. (Was he roly-poly like Santa Claus? Was she forever making yummy cupcakes and watching the soaps while ironing, like my Grandma did? Was there a kind of radiance around him? Did he wear the vestments of a priest or the costume of a clown? Did she have loads of friends or was she more quiet and introspective?)
The idea of being filled with joy, filled wth joy, has always been compelling.
My mom inspired some of this fascination, with her oft repeated mantra, “Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone.” Yet she did not pretend away painful times. She also said, “Remember, it is in low tide that you find a pearl.”
And finding, engaging with, and experiencing life’s duality, the breadth and depth of its seasons and the magic and mundane of the NOW moment seem to be components of a joy-filled life.
The Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw said, “This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances…”
And Mother Teresa put it even more simply: “Joy is prayer – Joy is strength … Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.”
In truth, I cannot be sure what “joy” looks like. But I imagine it resembles the image of a mother when she feels her baby kick inside her womb; I imagine it is seen on the face of a father when he holds his tiny baby for the first time; I imagine It radiates from the face of one touched by a compassionate healer; I imagine it settles into a person who rediscovers the majesty and serenity that can be found in nature; I imagine it bursts forth from the loyal friends who see that someone they love has had the courage to overcome their addictions; and I imagine it pervades the lives of neighbors and communities who are inspired by stories of kindness and heroism in the face of pain and strife.
Maybe joy is not something we need worry about filling up in us. Maybe joy is what fills others as a result of who we are.
Suggested Practice: Joy Walk
Carve out some time to meander in a favorite place.
Have no destination in mind.
Simply allow whatever catches your attention to guide your pace
Move when you become aware that it is time to move.
Pause when an inner *something* asks that you pause.
There is nothing that needs to be accomplished.
Notice what happens to your breath; your mind; your body; your spirit.