Weekly Soul: Week 15 - Joy
Today's meditation from Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living by Dr. Frederic Craigie.
-15-
When Native American medicine men talk to the sick, they usually ask three questions: When was the last time you sang? When was the last time you danced? When was the last time you told your story?
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
I grew up with loving parents who were
passionate about music and whose tastes were… proper. My mother had been a
professional opera singer in her younger years and played quite respectable
classical piano into her seventies. My dad’s piano proficiency was quite a bit
south of his wife’s, but he enjoyed playing and found his own niche and joy in
performing choral music. When the radio was tuned to the Beatles and Monkees in
my friend’s homes, in my home, it was the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B♭
minor.
When I was in seventh or eighth grade, my
parents signed me up for after-school dance lessons, where Mr. Ciccorelli
valiantly tried to teach his charges the Lindy and the Foxtrot. After going
through the moves in slow motion, 1-2-3-4, for half an hour, we were “rewarded”
by being allowed to dance the Twist to 45 rpm records that classmates had
brought in. Spare me! I despaired of wasting daylight hours doing anything
other than playing baseball. My experience led me to put dancing in the same
emotional category as going to the dentist to have cavities filled.
Over the years, this has changed. I recall
going to a party in a barrio in Nogales, Sonora as part of a cultural exchange
program—far from the world of Tchaikovsky—and joining in unscripted,
improvisational, and joyful movement to the beat of Latin music. I danced at my
children’s weddings, following no rules or forms but making it up and partaking
of the energy and spirit of being together with people I love. I have joined a
smattering of Anglos dancing at a Tohono O’Odham singing/drumming circle in
southern Arizona. Living for these many years in Maine, I’ve enjoyed contra
dances. I have now come to see dancing as a joyful and freeing experience, as
long as you don’t take dancing or yourself too seriously.
So, when was the last time you danced? Or
sang? Or picked up your ukulele? Or took pictures of flowers blossoming in the
spring? Or paused to look at a cloudless night sky? Or shared some of the story
about what you love… what you’re passionate about… with someone else?
The journey of your life is serious
business, in the sense of making thoughtful choices about how you use your time
and fill your days. But “serious” does not mean “joyless.” You are entitled to
do things that bring you joy. You are allowed to do things that have no clear,
immediate, redeeming purpose.
I do think that, as a culture, we conflate
joy with what I’d call “distraction.” Distraction means being involved with
(largely passive) activities that fill the time and provide some respite from
dealing with your real life. I’m sure that all of us enjoy some television and
an occasional movie, but there’s a point at which allowing these activities to
dominate your life draws you away from being who you are and who you can be. And,
of course, there is hollowness in the transient benefit of more seriously addictive
behaviors.
Joy, on the other hand, has a quality of
genuineness that distraction lacks. You can tell the difference, can’t you? Joy
is more, “This is who I am, this is what I’m passionate about, this is where I
find pleasure, this is part of what it means to me to be really alive.”
Reflection
- What brings you joy? What do
you do that brings pleasure… energy… passion… into your life, even in the
absence of any immediate socially-redeeming purpose?
- What do you recall in the past
that has brought you joy, that may have slipped out of the picture in more
recent times?
- How are you doing building
such things into your schedule and routine? Is there an opportunity… and
can you give yourself permission… to prioritize these activities a little
more highly?
Authors
Frederic
and Mary Ann Brussat have been writing and developing resources about
spirituality and culture since the early 1970s. Frederic (whose name, I might
add, is spelled the correct way) is ordained in the United Church of Christ,
with a ministry focused on journalism and ministry. Mary Ann is an interfaith
minister, ordained by the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary. Together, they have
written extensively about spiritual perspectives and practices—their phrase is
“spiritual literacy” –from world spiritual and religious traditions. Their
website, www.spiritualityandpractice.com, provides over 40,000 pages of content, bringing together much of their
work: descriptions and resources for dozens of spiritual practices, hundreds of
reviews of spiritually literate films, e-courses on spiritual practices and
formation, daily meditations, book reviews (including several of their own),
and a remarkable, categorized, searchable, appropriately-cited database of over
10,000 spiritually-pertinent quotations. They presently direct The Center for
Spirituality & Practice in Claremont, California, affiliated with the
interfaith-oriented Claremont School of Theology.
Book Description:
Keywords:
meditation; reflection; inspiration; miracles; aliveness; purpose; laughter; joy; presence; mindfulness; activism; acceptance; gratitude; forgiveness; creativity; civility; hope; affirmation; wholeness; well-being; mental health; personal growth; transformation; inner peace; personal reflection; joy; joyful living; inspirational quotes; inspirational commentary
For more posts by and about Fred and his book, click HERE.
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