A Lamp in the Window and Other Joys
The practice of writing a blog for eons has made me alert to patterns, words, ideas, that arise and repeat in a week (or a more sustained period). Eventually I realize, ah-ha! that’s the post I ought to be writing. And this week it was the word joy. Which, given our political world right now, it’s either inevitable or absurd or perhaps just necessary to come back to joy.
I started off listening to a podcast via Tricycle where Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche talked about diligence and joy. James Shaheen notes that he “describe[s] diligence as learning to find joy in whatever we are engaged with.” He asks, “How can joy sustain us and help us accomplish our goals when ordinarily we associate challenges with a lot of hard and joyless work?” And the reply is:
“Well, I think the reason why that happens is not that there wasn’t joy. If there was no joy, I don’t think one would aspire to do that, whatever you are wanting to be diligent and apply your diligence. So, there are some positive things that you see that can be reaped as a fruit for yourself, for your well-being, and for the growth of your spiritual realization. So there is that attraction. That attraction is by nature joyful. There is a sort of something that from within attracts you to have those qualities or those outcomes or those accomplishments that supports one’s life and one’s growth. You are inspired to have them in you.”
And then, the glorious Jon Batiste brought some JOY to some kids as a celebrity substitute. This is delightful on so many levels. I just want to watch this guy endlessly.
I’m still thinking about what Rebecca Solnit says in Hope in the Dark: “Memory of joy and liberation can become a navigational tool, an identity, a gift.”
Make joy your navigational tool.
This past week, I found joy in a March snowfall — out like a lion and all that. I was also working so just had to do quick little clicks on my way there. I would have liked more, but also, I did get a few okay ones! Joy! And there was a lamp in the window, with books. This seemed to symbolize so much for me at that moment. All this weather. So. Much. Weather. But also, a light in a window, steadfast. It feels like we’re all living in a snow squall, in a spring storm. Still, there is hope, there are those making of themselves a light, offering light, keeping a light on.
I cancelled Netflix to save some money, so have about 20 days to binge-watch and so we took in The Residence with Uzo Aduba. It’s gotten mixed reviews, but honestly it was just what I needed. I’ve never seen Orange is the New Black because I pretty much live under a rock but you might know her from that show. Anyway, I loved her character. She’s a birder, which, for me, was delightful, in no small part because it reminded me of the story of Christian Cooper. So being a female, black birder, that’s a big deal, that’s cool. (Cooper’s story has a decidedly undelightful aspect to it too — as it could have gone a very different way).
In one of the later episodes, the character even uses my line: “consider the opposite.” (I mean, a lot of people have probably said it). What I liked about the birding motif was the way it was about seeing one thing through the lens of another thing. And with birding, it’s literally a lens (binoculars). I just think this kind of thing would help us solve various life problems. Like, here’s a problem, how would birders look at it? how would astronauts look at it? how would a philosopher look at it, or an athlete, or a mechanic, or a poet?
Lastly, this morning, a Saturday, I listened to Aaron Au on CKUA’s Classical Connections. Which is what I like to do most Saturdays when I’m not working and if my life is burning well. This morning he played The Lark Ascending and it was, as it always is, a revelation. For a while I listened to it every morning — a guaranteed interval of transcendence. I don’t know much about music, but the lark gets me every time. And there are so many renditions to choose from it can be a little different if you want it to be.
The Australian violinist Richard Tognetti (he plays in the link above) says in a piece in The Guardian that he finds it a “radical” piece. He says that it is “transcendental to the point where you are astral travelling.” So, if you’re into that, I do recommend it as a morning awakening.
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