It’s almost full summer break in my household and our whole clan is ready for a change of pace and some quality time together. As the son of a teacher, and an educator for 25 years, I have lived on an academic year cycle my entire life. I look forward to the rejuvenation and rest ahead!
This week I share an article from Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation, along with two YouTube links that I came across last night. Enjoy and blessings on your week ahead!
Joy Begets Joy
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, host of the CAC podcast Love Period, reminds us to choose joy amid life’s difficulties:
Friends, I believe the bold path to making our lives and the world better is fundamentally lit by the radical, fierce love that all the major religions preach. Though we are outraged by injustice, we don’t get there with just our outrage. We need to get there with our joy, which—according to my friend Father Richard Rohr—is both a decision and a surrender. It’s a decision to look around and recognize and value what is good, what is lovely, what is inspirational—and let that delight us. It’s surrendering to the fact that there is not much we can control in life, but our reactions are within our control. Recognizing joy and embracing it—these are our decisions to make.…
On any given day, your joy might be quiet and peace-filled, tucked way down in your belly. Your joy might be extroverted and raucous, making you dance, sing, and shout. Do you with your joy, be you with your joy, feel it your own way. Every day, like brushing your teeth, focus on it, find it, be fueled by it. It’s inside you, waiting to resource you. To build your resistance and resilience. It will support you, whether in your movement-building or when making sandwiches for your children. It will help you stand up for the other and stand in line for an inoculation. Joy powers kindness; joy begets joy.
Joy is an essential need for the thriving of the human spirit. Without it, we are diminished and too often left with the festering of our wounds, resentments, and fears. Joy is that feeling of well-being, pleasure, and happiness that accompanies us as we move through life. It alters the way we see the world, its people, and ourselves. Joy tints our perspective with optimism and the confidence that we will go through the hard things, and though we might be bruised or battered, we’ll come out on the other side. Joy is the wellspring of resistance, the water of life. Now, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and smile from the inside out. There, there it is. Can you feel it? That’s joy!
Keeping the Faith 