It's All About The Joy
When embraced and appreciated fully we will experience the internal and eternal presence of authentic joy.
There is something spiritual about joy.
A rich mixture of happiness, delight, gladness, and wonder combine in our depths to create a sense of reverence and awe.
That's the difference. It is like refraction of light through a glass prism The light is bent and deviated, leaving the prism as a rainbow. Joy changes us and everyone around us.
We have been told over and over again that wealth and wellbeing are one and the same.
Can it really be that money and the economy are what hold the keys to our happiness and morality?
A humanitarian and author I admire thinks not.
Gregory Boyle, who lives and works with gang members in Los Angeles, said during a conference in Memphis that there is a much more meaningful path to follow;
It’s where the joy is, follow the joy, it’s about the joy
Georgia O’Keeffe
“Everyone sees the big things, but these smaller things are so beautiful and people might not notice them if I didn't emphasize them.”
Georgia O’Keeffe, the artist known for her striking perspectives and innovations was asked in an interview about why flower petals and other small objects were magnified making them appear larger than mountains or skyscrapers in her landscapes.
She replied that "Everyone sees the big things, but these smaller things are so beautiful and people might not notice them if I didn't emphasize them."
Miracles can be found everywhere if only we pay attention.
When embraced and appreciated fully we will experience the internal and eternal presence of authentic joy.
The awe of joy, that refracted rainbow, leads to our heart of hearts, our true selves, where God is always waiting with open arms. I've experienced such bliss at the birth of my children and grandchildren or while hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains to sit at the base of a 'hidden' waterfall.
I feel it while sitting in the living room with my wife and hear it in the voices of old friends over the phone. The world stops for a moment and what is important becomes clear. I witnessed one of those times at the former Children's Home of Vermilion County in Danville, Illinois.
As a child care worker, I had joined in an effort with other service providers to reunite four children ages 6-12 with their mother. They had lived at the facility for over a year with no family contact allowed due to allegations of abuse from the father and negligence of responsibility by the mother.
Even after the father was safely in prison and mother was cleared of all related charges, the State of Illinois DCFS was unwilling to bring them back together. Six months of diligent pleas and hard work finally resulted in a softening of their position.
On Christmas Eve there was a group banquet and gift exchange for the kids and staff in the main dining area. As a local church choir sang "O Holy Night" the mother of our four kids appeared from behind the lights and garland at the doorway. The youngest boy looked up and shouted "MAMA" followed by shrieks from his brother and sisters.
They rushed together in a group hug that almost knocked mother down. The incredible radiance which filled them spilled over to us all. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. It cannot be denied that this moment manifested the awe of joy.
So, as we observe Christmas, Advent, Hanukkah. Kwanzaa or other seasonal celebrations, may we follow the joy. It will take us beyond traditions and rituals to the sacred, silent night where suddenly refracted light fills the empty space, redirecting every heart, mind and soul.
Refractions of Light; It's All About The Joy
When embraced and appreciated fully we will experience the internal and eternal presence of authentic joy.
There is something spiritual about joy.
A rich mixture of happiness, delight, gladness, and wonder combine in our depths to create a sense of reverence and awe.
That's the difference. It is like refraction of light through a glass prism The light is bent and deviated, leaving the prism as a rainbow. Joy changes us and everyone around us.
“We hear a whole lot about joy during the holiday season. The hints of its presence are everywhere. ”
We have been told over and over again that wealth and wellbeing are one and the same.
Can it really be that money and the economy are what hold the keys to our happiness and morality?
A humanitarian and author I admire thinks not.
Gregory Boyle, who lives and works with gang members in Los Angeles, said during a conference in Memphis that there is a much more meaningful path to follow;
It’s where the joy is, follow the joy, it’s about the joy
Georgia O’Keeffe
“Everyone sees the big things, but these smaller things are so beautiful and people might not notice them if I didn't emphasize them.”
Georgia O’Keeffe, the artist known for her striking perspectives and innovations was asked in an interview about why flower petals and other small objects were magnified making them appear larger than mountains or skyscrapers in her landscapes.
She replied that "Everyone sees the big things, but these smaller things are so beautiful and people might not notice them if I didn't emphasize them."
Miracles can be found everywhere if only we pay attention.
When embraced and appreciated fully we will experience the internal and eternal presence of authentic joy.
The awe of joy, that refracted rainbow, leads to our heart of hearts, our true selves, where God is always waiting with open arms. I've experienced such bliss at the birth of my children and grandchildren or while hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains to sit at the base of a 'hidden' waterfall.
I feel it while sitting in the living room with my wife and hear it in the voices of old friends over the phone. The world stops for a moment and what is important becomes clear. I witnessed one of those times at the former Children's Home of Vermilion County in Danville, Illinois.
As a child care worker, I had joined in an effort with other service providers to reunite four children ages 6-12 with their mother. They had lived at the facility for over a year with no family contact allowed due to allegations of abuse from the father and negligence of responsibility by the mother.
Even after the father was safely in prison and mother was cleared of all related charges, the State of Illinois DCFS was unwilling to bring them back together. Six months of diligent pleas and hard work finally resulted in a softening of their position.
On Christmas Eve there was a group banquet and gift exchange for the kids and staff in the main dining area. As a local church choir sang "O Holy Night" the mother of our four kids appeared from behind the lights and garland at the doorway. The youngest boy looked up and shouted "MAMA" followed by shrieks from his brother and sisters.
They rushed together in a group hug that almost knocked mother down. The incredible radiance which filled them spilled over to us all. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. It cannot be denied that this moment manifested the awe of joy.
So, as we observe Christmas, Advent, Hanukkah. Kwanzaa or other seasonal celebrations, may we follow the joy. It will take us beyond traditions and rituals to the sacred, silent night where suddenly refracted light fills the empty space, redirecting every heart, mind and soul.
Rejoice, Rejoice; The Season of Light is Beckoning
“There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.”
John Calvin
This Sunday in Advent asks for us to rejoice in the season. We can see the changes wherever we go during Christmastime. Colored and white twinkle lights adorn trees, houses, barns...and even gaily displayed on a whole group of people in Pelzer, South Carolina. What a delight it is to be surrounded by the joy of light and lights. Today implores us to be mindful. It asks for us to join hands in an effort to make the world a gentler place of rejoicing. What better time than now to start a journey of healing and awakening? We have the light to guide us just as the Wise Men did more than two thousand years ago.
All of this incredible celebration is shining into our hearts on Gaudete Sunday. But I want to share another kind of rejoicing that has touched me deeply. I have had the great honor and privilege of listening to the “Fifth Step” of people recovering from the chronic diseases of addiction. When one arrives at this point, a fearless moral inventory has been painstakingly prepared. Resentments have been identified. Even personal ownership in those offenses has been taken. A lifetime of secrets is shared and confessed. Burdens are set aside. A place is made for rejoicing where depression and regret once reigned. From the heart of darkness comes a beacon of hope.
I have learned from these brave people that light, love, and joy can glow in the most hopeless situations. I have learned that healing and awakening are always possible. I have learned that we are never alone. I have learned that we are all in this together for a very good reason. I have learned that Christmas rejoicing can happen every day of the year if we allow it. That transformation is just what we need today.
"I don't know what to do!" cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same breath; and making a perfect Laocoon of himself with his stockings. "I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man."
Charles Dickens