There is a difference between ‘joy’ and ‘enjoyment’. Enjoyment is a more or less passive state, such as when we enjoy some form of entertainment. Joy, on the other hand, is an active status, which rises spontaneously through involvement and action.
Sri Aurobindo
Greetings Dear Friends.
My soul needs to fortify itself with joy right now. You? I was contemplating this on a glorious late afternoon kayak with my husband, when (at that very moment)the strong current pulled me towards the stern of a boat which revealed its name to be…
You get one guess😉…
Yup…
« Joy »!
If that isn’t sign enough, on the way back, I slid by another boat whose stern was lit by the setting sun. It’s name…
« Rejoice » (to remember once again the power of Joy).
You can’t make this stuff up, so I decided to heed the message from the universe and name our monthly mirror « Joy »
There was a time I used to think that Joy was the opposite of sorrow.
Many sages, including Sri Aurobindo (a non-dual master teacher) describe Joy as the underlying vibration of the Universe. In Sankskrit, this is known as Ananda, which is often translated as Bliss.
Is there a part of you that responds to that idea with “How could that be? There is so much suffering and imbalance everywhere.”?
Certainly that was my initial reaction. Yet, Joy is not the absence of suffering. It is the spaciousness to hold all experience and to keep moving onward to the drum beat of the heart. It is an inner pulsation that does not really arise from external circumstances though it is waiting to be called forth in any moment our hearts leap up in recognition or awe… or in that moment we stand up and participate when all we want to do is crumble…or in that moment we crumble and find beauty in such close proximity to the ground. I guess I have lived long enough and experienced enough personal sorrow to now know that Joy sings…Yes… even in the darkest night of the soul.
Let us call Joy the presence of the rising human spirit and the signal to us that Divinity is everywhere.
What is so radical about Joy is that it’s expression is terrifying to the forces of authoritarianism and the “power-over” structures that tend to dominate our inner and outer landscapes. Where those structures say “submit”, Joy rises. Where those structures say “contract”, Joy expands. Where those structure say “disconnect”, Joy Unites. It is a force that cannot be controlled.
I would love for us to lift our arms and hearts together this month and fortify ourselves with all those things that bring us genuine joy. Whether we feel joyous in this moment or not, all Joy requires is for us to stand up, open up, light up, speak up, or listen up and her passion will carry us on.
All my LOVE.
Jo
