Now is a Time for Joy

It doesn’t seem like the right time to write about joy since the world is at war with itself, again. But maybe that makes it the best time. What is a better antidote to living in war, than joy? Maybe this is the time to put words to elation because our losses keep piling up. As your grief unfurls, do you ever notice in its arms a small bundle? That is joy. It is the moment of gut-busting laughter at the funeral or the touch that comes as you wait for the test results.

Joy is so intimately connected to grief that just invoking its name animates our hearts. Once we give ourselves permission to feel its presence, joy can be a companion in the darkest of times. It has sat with me at the shores of the Caribbean as I mourned my father, then my mother’s transition. It has been the gift of relaxation in times when my Spirit felt constrained. Embracing joy creates a soft landing place for the heaviest of hearts.

Ruminations on Joy

Joy reorganizes your cells. There are no introductions needed; joy is already enamored by your essence. It holds the history of your laughter. And it has come as a reminder of what is possible on the other side of grief, fear, and unworthiness.

Joy will be your companion in the darkness. It gives you permission to crumble, break, and come undone. It is the cool water for your rage and the nourishment in isolation.

Joy has the capacity for being rejected time and again. Without shame, blame, or guilt becoming its weapon. It will wrap you in its arms and hold you expecting nothing in return. Joy will be a guiding light for mending the wounds that loss and degradation have left behind.

Joy is your best playmate in discovering yourself. It holds no expectations of who you should be; only the delight in who you are becoming. Joy will behold your reflection as beautiful no matter what shape you take. Joy is cheering you on to become your boldest self.

Joy is the steward of your possibilities. When uncertainty and doubt arrive, joy gently ushers them out the back door. It guards your most sacred yearnings; cataloging each one for when you lose your way. Joy keeps the secret parts of your heart; training them up in the way of tenderness, openness, and grace.

Joy is the architect of your wholeness. It fortifies your blood for the journey of healing. Joy reminds you that silence, breath, and the river will catch you. It gives you permission to be stronger than you could have imagined and opens new pathways to your evolution.

Joy is the companion you have always been seeking. Joy is always present.