Hello Precious Siblings ~
Where is your Joy?
This was the question put to my friend as she traveled around Peru and really made an impression. What was it about her that emanated this lack? She is a pretty lively and present being as I experience her. But from their vantage point something was off. And as I contemplate this, it seems pretty obvious. Our culture (or lack thereof) has commodified joy. In true capitalistic fashion we are told that our joy comes from what we buy, what we accomplish, who we date and money. That our happiness is dependent on the state of affairs out there. But this just leads to a draining of our inherent and innate joy in the utter miracle of being alive!
My long time meditation teacher, Paul Muller-Ortega, used to encourage us to find unreasonable happiness! The joy that doesn’t have a reason to it, isn’t predicated on outer circumstance but rooted deep within and attuned to the very act of being alive, no matter the outer story. This is a tall order in the midst of the clamor and the poly-crisis we are living in. There is so much pain and suffering, so much cruelty, in the world and internally directed, that it requires dedication and commitment to cultivate this capacity. And sometimes I hear folks say that it’s impossible or somehow a betrayal to be joyous in the face of misery.
But then I think of my other friend who has plainly stated to me that he is committed to his own TransJoy as an act of defiance and rebellion of the oppression and bias he suffers daily. This is a teaching that is being offered from many folks from different intersecting identities that are being marginalized and harried. Finding your joy in the face of being told joy is not for you, is crucial to our well being and resilience. Reclaiming our joy rooted in our very existence is the key to being able to navigate and ultimately resist the power of a society that wants us to be dull, disenchanted and unwilling to stand up for what is beautiful, truthful and live giving.
This is not to deny or repress the pain and the suffering. But to meet it and be able to hold it with more capacity because we open to the full gamut of this wild beautiful horrendous journey. It is the joy and beauty that we cultivate and look for that gives us the sustenance to feel the grief and fight for our lives and those of our siblings, human and more than human.
So the call is to cultivate the practices, the will and the curiosity to reclaim our joy, our unreasonable happiness. Not from things, people and achievement, but from connection, community, beauty, presence, Love, sensory delight. Where can you start to pull the thread and find your moments of happiness…walking in the woods…letting the birds serenade you…sitting with friends sewing…singing in community…dancing…sharing a meal…the touch of soft fabric? Tell me, where is your joy?
“…the moment we incline action toward achievement, we drain the activity of joy; how anything we approach transactionally will NEVER yield transcendence.”
~ Maria Popova
May we seek out the places within and the connections without that lead us to joy
May we endeavor to stop trying buy happiness and instead offer it to our neighbors with a smile
May we practice the rebellious act of being joyous in the face of oppression
May we bring wild blessings and fierce love to all we encounter
Practice Prompts:
- Make it a practice to smile, to yourself, to the folks you walk by, to your loved ones. Allow a gentle soft smile to play on your lips and eyes when you are sitting in meditation if you have a sitting practice. This is not a cheshire grin, but a soft buddha smile, of slightly lifted corners of the mouth. Like you are in on the secret of deep joy. See what happens when you do this as a practice on a regular basis. Simply allowing your face to soften and open to the world around you and to make an offering of kindness through your face.
- What are three things that you experience that bring you simple moments of joy? Do them more often. Are there some things that you know bring you delight but you don’t make time for them. Perhaps make time for one of these this week. Start to notice and lean into the things that bring you pleasure and delight.
- Explore with me, in-person in Bend, Oregon, and virtually all over the world. These sessions are centered on supporting you finding nervous system capacity and resiliency through various practices including but not limited to Somatic Experiencing®, Continuum Inquiry and various embodying practices. Respond to this email or schedule a free 20 minute Exploratory Session.
Practice Opportunities:
In Person:
Virtual:
- Yoga for Resilience, Mondays, 9:30-11am PT, livestream through Body of Insight (no class June 15 and July 13)
- All Levels Yoga, Sundays… June 21, July 5, Aug 2 & 16, 9:30-11am PT, livestream through Two Dog Yoga
Inspirational Wisdom
Magnolia Dreaming
I’m not sure if I understand what hope means
but I do know that every spring
the magnolia trees shake loose
from the ache of winter
and slip into something a little more like
unabashed promise.
Last night while I was sleeping
thousands of birds traveled thousands of miles
to find their way back home to the same tree
tracing cartographs of belonging
under the moonlight
throats full with righteous sun-kissed songs
that say
yes
we are still here
we are still alive
now
together.
Everyone keeps saying
how long and hard this winter was
after the golden hour of autumn was met
with seeds planted and blood spilled
with land tended and trees uprooted
with collective resistance and history repeated.
But then spring unfurls and reminds us
that like tents pitched in manicured lawns
like the murmuration of feet marching
like the sound of voices singing together
praying together
wailing together
the wildflowers are reaching for light
through the cold hard earth
pushing through pavement
all slick with grief
because love
will always find a way
to bloom.
