Joy
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2020 8:44 pm
[M]en are, that they might have joy. 2 Nephi 2:25
in this life I shall have joy.... 5 Moses 10. (Spoken by Adam.)
One of the things I really liked about being LDS was the notion that the purpose of people was to have joy. Not just joy in heaven, but joy right here on earth. I hadn't thought much about joy lately -- the pandemic, our treatment of migrant children, political division and hatred didn't seem to leave much room for joy.
I was reminded of joy last week a couple of times. The first was folks standing in line to vote in Philadelphia and other cities. There they were, out in a pandemic, standing in long lines, doing their best to stay six feet apart, surrounded by vicious politics. They had every right to feel cranky, irritated, put upon. And maybe some of them did.
But others....danced. When they had every right to be miserable and feel sorry for themselves, they danced! And it was joyful.
I saw that same look of joy on the face of Kamala Harris when she practically danced onto the stage to speak to the people on Saturday.
It made start to wonder. Where was all the joy? Why had I forgotten about joy as a purpose?
I went for a walk the next day. It was one of those perfect NW Washington fall days. The sky was a brilliant blue. The maples were bright yellow, and the leaves that had fallen crackled on the ground when I stepped on them. My face felt warm from the sun and cold from the breeze at the same time. Lake Washington was beautiful, and the mountains were actually purple majesties. And I felt the joy of just being an insignificant speck of carbon that was lucky enough to see the beauty, hear the crackle, feel the sun and the wind, and experience them with such an intense, happy feeling.
I thought about a metaphor I'd learned from Andy Puddicombe, co-founder of Headspace. Joy is like the blue sky. Clouds may get in the way of joy -- hide it from view. But like the blue sky, the joy is always there. And we don't have to work hard to feel joy. All it takes is a willingness to let go of the clouds of misery. And there it is.
And it's still there today.
Anyone else have thoughts about joy?
in this life I shall have joy.... 5 Moses 10. (Spoken by Adam.)
One of the things I really liked about being LDS was the notion that the purpose of people was to have joy. Not just joy in heaven, but joy right here on earth. I hadn't thought much about joy lately -- the pandemic, our treatment of migrant children, political division and hatred didn't seem to leave much room for joy.
I was reminded of joy last week a couple of times. The first was folks standing in line to vote in Philadelphia and other cities. There they were, out in a pandemic, standing in long lines, doing their best to stay six feet apart, surrounded by vicious politics. They had every right to feel cranky, irritated, put upon. And maybe some of them did.
But others....danced. When they had every right to be miserable and feel sorry for themselves, they danced! And it was joyful.
I saw that same look of joy on the face of Kamala Harris when she practically danced onto the stage to speak to the people on Saturday.
It made start to wonder. Where was all the joy? Why had I forgotten about joy as a purpose?
I went for a walk the next day. It was one of those perfect NW Washington fall days. The sky was a brilliant blue. The maples were bright yellow, and the leaves that had fallen crackled on the ground when I stepped on them. My face felt warm from the sun and cold from the breeze at the same time. Lake Washington was beautiful, and the mountains were actually purple majesties. And I felt the joy of just being an insignificant speck of carbon that was lucky enough to see the beauty, hear the crackle, feel the sun and the wind, and experience them with such an intense, happy feeling.
I thought about a metaphor I'd learned from Andy Puddicombe, co-founder of Headspace. Joy is like the blue sky. Clouds may get in the way of joy -- hide it from view. But like the blue sky, the joy is always there. And we don't have to work hard to feel joy. All it takes is a willingness to let go of the clouds of misery. And there it is.
And it's still there today.
Anyone else have thoughts about joy?
