On Being Joyful for No Reason
October 20,
2016
I have many things in my life to be joyful about, celebrating my 43rd wedding anniversary recently and two beautiful grandchildren, to name a few. Since the September equinox I've noticed something new: now and then being filled with a feeling of joy for no obvious reason. A consequence of the
latest shift in planetary energies? I don't know. The experience prompted me to create the image above, which has as background a photograph I took while at my favorite coffee shop in town on the day of the equinox.
The remarkable thing about joy is that it can be felt in the most trying of circumstances. Take my father, Kenneth Boulding, for example. His boundless creativity continued virtually
unabated when he was dying of cancer. He wrote 143 sonnets from January 3, 1992 to February 6, 1993 (six weeks before he died on March 18). Here is the penultimate sonnet that he wrote when in hospice care and bed-ridden:
Outrageous Joy
January 24, 1993
Joy is outrageous. Here we are on a cliff
In a cloud; and we know there is a brink
That
well may be much closer than we think,
We could be over it in just a jiff.
Over all broods the silent sound of "if"
And even where we stand we sense a stink
Of pain and human misery--we shrink
And then comes, almost like a clown saying "Piff,"
Absurd joy to the world, the Lord is come
Like fresh sap rising in a withered tree
A flame of praise, rising exultantly
Beyond all reason in a world so glum
There is a vast refreshment in the sky--
What matters cliffs indeed to those who fly!
So, friends, please join me in being joyful for no reason.
In the meantime, he shift is happening. Hang in there.
Stay grounded.
Blessings, Love and Light,
Russell