It's Time To Celebrate The Good In Ourselves, Each Other And The World
We have entered a special time, an opening to a new way. We are crossing a threshold from the old to the new. We can catch glimpses of this new way through:
- the problems and challenges crying out for fresh thinking
- those places in culture and nature where life seems broken,
- the deep desire in people to be able to be themselves,
- the exhaustion that comes from having to give so much for so little in return
- the fresh investments in real community and consciousness change creating a new sense of possibility.
The Magic of Joy is about this time of reclaiming, resetting, and renewing. It asks, " how can we be more ourselves and what new way could we create?" and provides a journey from the fear-based world to a joy-based one.
Joy Is More Than A Feeling; It Is Your Intelligence
The world, for thousands of years, has been anchored in fear. We need a new anchor supporting an emerging collaborative, healthy, grounded culture. It is time to change from a world based on fear to a new world based on joy.
Joy is a different kind of bold. It lets us imagine new possibilities and tap into new sources of power to heal ourselves and the challenged world we call home. When we exchange ideas about scarcity for the freedom of being and having enough, we make space for ourselves, each other, and the needs of nature.
Embracing having and being enough means we can chill and go easier on ourselves and others. We, therefore, have space for the natural flow of what poet David Whyte calls "the conversational nature of reality." Embracing this new way opens the door to joy.
Joy is not just a feeling. Joy is an intelligence, an anchor, a practice, a skill, and a compass. Joy is a way to make friends with ourselves, each other, and nature. It is time to make the spirit of friendship that joy creates a living reality in our lives.
Joy invites fresh, cherishing energy and a way to love ourselves and our lives. Since we are embedded in the natural and human world, we can think of joy actively and playfully as a skill or practice. This is how we create all sorts of openings for ourselves and others through fresh possibilities.
The Magic of Joy is a place for the questions we need to ask, and that begs to be asked so we can rethink how we live to create something new. It is a pathway to a new way of being.
A Journey To The Life You Deserve
You Are Not A Widget
Cultures define identities according to the needs of a system, not according to the innate characteristic of an individual, which is why people often feel unseen, misunderstood, left out, and diminished.
The energy it takes to fit into our assigned "slot" in a market-based system consumes so much energy that most of us are exhausted from the effort and feel unrewarded by the resulting damages to or health and our joy.
A Pathway, Even A Murky One, Is A Gift
In times of turmoil, certainty can seem like a great idea. Actually rigid certainty harms us because it does not rise to challenges and resolve them. As a result, problems can pile up and worsen, as we see.
Instead of certainty, we can opt for the perspective and clarity we need to make new choices. As we learn that we are co-creators of this world, we discover we can solve all of our problems. We are discovering the value of caring for ourselves and our shared earth. We are learning the importance and value of compassion as a way to build bridges and collaborate.
Some think that life is necessarily painful and challenging. When we shift from a fear-based mindset to a joy-creating one, life becomes safer, friendlier, and happier. This is how we can make reality our friend.
You Have To Declutter To See The Terrain And The Path
The poet David Whyte talks about the conversational nature of reality. Reality, as he points out, is not fixed; it is changing and evolving. It is a conversation.
When our perceptions and thoughts are too cluttered with old beliefs, false information, and unnecessary complexity, we must take a step back to reclaim ourselves, our energy, and our lives.
A joy-focused practice makes inviting insights, perspectives, and opportunities for meaningful change easier. By cultivating a greater understanding of our inherited gifts and challenges, we can reinvest in the common good.
So the question that begs to be asked is: "What kind of conversation do we want to have?" The well-worn "What is wrong with you?" conversation that seems to dominate our social space? Or are we perhaps ready for something better?
The Transformative Power Of Joy
We can continue on the fear-based path of conflict and pain or shift to a new way of living based on joy for ourselves and each other.
When you invest your energy in creating joy, self-care becomes essential. It is not selfish. It supports your contribution to the world, and everyone benefits.
Joy is naturally low conflict and healthy; it is a bridgebuilder and an invitation to connection and collaboration. Joy is non-adversarial.
A joy-based world naturally has a place for you. It is ecological, values all differences and contributions, and creates the social systems to support the thriving of all joy creators.
The Personal Sovereignty Pivot
What happens when our social system does not create thriving for its members?
We have a rich inheritance from our ancestors. However, we need discernment about what aspects of our legacy are valuable and which need to be retired. Then we can reshape our culture to support aliveness, thriving, and well-being as our main focus.
You are not meant to be a captive, a victim, or a doormat. You are intended to be a co-creator.
You need the lay of the land to detach from the past without rejecting it and without needing to support its dysfunctional aspects. The personal sovereignty you develop from this practice gives you a strong connection between your good, the good in other people, and the good in human history. It makes your life a joy.
The Humanitarian Revolution
In his book Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming, Paul Hawken illuminates a little-known movement around the globe: the movement for human, social, and environmental justice and well-being. I am calling it the Humanitarian Revolution because it is heart-based. According to his research, it is composed of individuals and small organizations that number 1-2 million groups worldwide.
All cultures have a lifecycle, and it is apparent that our current capitalistic system is ill-equipped for the challenges of ecological revitalization and the need for social and economic justice. This Humanitarian Revolution is the foundation for a new cultural system. Personal sovereignty and the practice of anchoring your life in creating joy help you take your place in this movement and help make this world the wonderful place we know it can be.
Joy Is The Nourishment We Need
The world we inhabit is exhausted and so are most of us. We know we need change but it can be hard to see the way forward.
So much of what we have does not meet our basic needs nor the deep, important ones. That is one of the reasons there is so much unhappiness in the world. We are not here to work ourselves to death for an image or a survival made unnecessarily difficult.
A practice of joy focuses on what is possible and nourishing. Our unmet basic needs and social needs can be met more easily by cultivating a joy practice.
How freeing and powerful would it be to do some weeding of what is truly unnecessary in all areas of life so we can live in harmony with ourselves, each other, and the earth? What joy could you invite if you did?
Invite Different Possibilities
One of our most important gifts is our imagination.
Our imaginations are activated constantly through advertising and other media, which push us to strive for certain goals, solve problems, and obtain security by buying stuff. We are taught to imagine possibilities for ourselves and reinvent ourselves through products of one kind or another.
What would it be like if we stepped back from reimagining and reinventing ourselves through products to imagining what life could be like if we could simply be ourselves? What would it be like if we imagined lives more in tune with a natural, sustainable pace of living?
What would we create if our imaginations ran to a different set of values and priorities? What could we imagine creating to support a new way of living? What is it like to imagine a world of enough and joy?
Joy Is Practical (And Creates Strength)
We have been taught that kindness, creativity, and joy are not practical, and it is not true. A kinder, more joyful world requires fewer weapons and defenses. What would it be like to live in a world filled with friendship, acceptance, and teamwork to handle the serious aspects of life? How about a healthier world, one that supports our wholeness?
One of the hidden benefits of a joy-centered life is that it is easier on everyone emotionally. Joy can create goodness for everyone, reducing difficult emotions like resentment and fear. Life will always be challenging, but we can make the best of it by anchoring our energies in creating joy and making it a practical life approach.
Imagine what it would be like to create such a world. How do we become a joy to ourselves as well as others? How do we invite joy together? What hope would that bring?
What fun to find out!
A New Story - A New World
Cultures have a life cycle. They provide some important benefits, and eventually conditions change, and new needs arise. Changing conditions mean a need for a new cultural system. These transitions or turning points from one culture to another are important times when we can reimagine our human story as we create a world that supports us better.
What would you like the new story to be? What new story do you think we need? What kind of role would be right for you?
Join the discussion.
