This is the 11th month of the year-long meditation gatherings, Walking the Path of Heartfulness. This particularly gathering had to be canceled due to a family situation; however, a brief teaching was shared via email. You can find it below. May it support your intention to cultivate joy in a world that often tries to undermine it.
What do these words Conscious Joy mean to you? Ross Gay describes in his essay, “Joy Is Such a Human Madness,” how joining together in our sorrow can annihilate it. And this is joy. I sat with this wondering if I was understanding him accurately. Perhaps he means that through connection, our shared humanity, that we turn sorrow into joy. Sounds like the famous saying from Thich Nhat Hahn, which I live by, No Mud No Lotus. It is through sharing our sorrow with each other, whatever that may be, we compost it and joy arises.
Brene Brown writes about hope in a similar way. In her book Atlas of the Heart, she describes hope as “a function of struggle — we develop hope not during the easy or comfortable time but through adversity and discomfort.” She goes on to say that hope arises when we perceive change as possible. In other words, we feel hopeful when we perceive possibility. Could it be that we experience joy when we perceive our sorrow as not ours alone? Is it within connection with others that we can perceive the joys of life even while in the mud?
In the same book, Brown defines joy “as an intense feeling of deep spiritual connection, pleasure, and appreciation.” Take a moment and recall a time, perhaps today, where you felt joy as Brown defines it. Bring it into consciousness. Perhaps you felt joy when watching the little kids in their costumes ring the doorbell for treats. Or remembering a time you’ve gathered with others even if it was in sadness – perhaps you laughed while crying. There are so many joyful moments when we pause and remember, or we pause and look around us. Noticing when we are experiencing joy – ah, this is joy – encourages us to notice it more.
And we can borrow joy when our perception is hazy or dark. We can cultivate joy in the sharing of our pain. We can share joy with those in need of some. We are joy because we are aware of and share our humanity.
Here is a supportive practice: Borrowing Joy.
Here is a teaching on Joy from my Engaged Mindfulness Series in 2020, includes 2 meditations.
How the Light Came
The more light you allow within you, the brighter the world you live in will be.
—Shakti Gawain
And it was in the darkest time
when she was most lost,
before she even knew to ask for help,
it was then the light arrived—
as a firefly, it so happens,
a radiance so tiny
she might have missed it
had it not lit up right in front of her face
at the very moment her friend spoke of love.
Perhaps she would have resisted it
if she’d had energy for resistance.
Even the smallest brilliance can be terrifying
when it asks us to see life as it really is
instead of the way we wish it would be.
As it is, the love light entered her,
humble as a beetle, significant as a star.
It glowed so brightly others could see it.
It responded to her trust.
It met her in silent rooms and lonely days.
It shined into deep uncertainty,
It offered her no answers.
It suggested a thousand right paths.
We could say the light didn’t change a thing.
We could say the light changed everything.
Who was she to receive a miracle?
Let’s not call it miracle, then.
Call it wonder. Call it unlikely luck.
But there is no way to pretend
it didn’t happen.
Even now, she tends that light,
marvels at how it glows even brighter
the more she gives it away.