Sanctuaries: HOPE & JOY

Certainly, these two jewels of our spiritual lives can be their own sanctuaries.  I decided though that I wanted to put them together.   We often acknowledge them together, sort of like a foyer and a living room. One brings you in and the other is where all the parties are. Hope looks forward to what is not yet, but what might be and could be, envisioning it and trusting that it will be good despite all appearances now.  Joy looks back at what was, and around at what is, and feels the full giftedness of it all.  And that’s usually the order in which we think of them: first hope and then joy.

As I look back at this past year, I have tried to hold on to a sense of hope. Let’s just say it hasn’t been easy!  I look around at what seems like constant threat, violence and toxicity of our world and its institutions deconstructing, and hope feels elusive. I cling to my beliefs and theological teachings, knowing that we in this 21st century United States are certainly not first, nor will be the last, of nations and peoples to be confronted with fear and anxiety as we feel helpless to prevent ourselves from disaster.  But maybe the problem isn’t in first trying to cling to Hope in order to reach our Joy.  Perhaps we need to flip the order.

This past year, I’ve been trying to follow my Joy. Joy has not been an easy word for me to know what to do with.  I don’t believe Joy is at all the same as happiness. We don’t get to Joy by trying to pursue happiness.  Joy is more of a gift than an achievement. So, I’m trying to redefine what I mean by my joy.  As I engage in the things that I have enJOYed, namely my writing and my art, I’ve been trying to identify what brings me joy about them, what I prefer in their components. I’ve learned to look for things like a sense of LIFT in my body and spirit,  or inspiration, or an increase of energy, affection, confidence, or preference.  These are ways I’ve decided that Joy shows itself to me.

I ask myself questions like: Do I like this poem rather than that poem? This word or that word? Why? Why do I like those colors together, or those marks, rather than those other marks.  What do I feel when I engage in my art or my writing? What inhibits my enjoyment? What are my thoughts or messages I give myself?  Am I operating under other people’s preferences rather than my own?  It’s been a sorting game to discern what exactly gives me JOY…and what doesn’t.  Then, I need to learn to embrace what’s new and unfamiliar, and let go of somethings that were old and familiar, comfortable – yet stagnating. 

Lo and behold…as I follow my own “breadcrumbs” of joy, my hope grows.   You see, I think I’ve discovered that if we lose our ability to discern and choose what brings us joy in the present moment, we can easily lose hope in the unforeseen future.  Plus, we’ve lost our joy in the present as well. We despair.  But, Joy is indeed a gift of the present moment. It’s all around us and infused in everything.  It can start as simply as waking up in the morning and saying, “I would enjoy pancakes today rather than toast.”  Or, “I would enjoy very much talking to that particular friend on the phone today.”

Obviously, these are simple types of choices that we make multiple times every day. They seem mundane.  But what if we can understand them as having the ability to actually create a pathway toward a lasting and enduring HOPE?  Over time, this intention of always assessing what would bring us the most JOY at any given moment opens the door to more joy, or perhaps, more awareness of the joy we actually have access to.  As with any practice, these small, mindful joys lead to greater and greater awareness of larger joys and intentions that have a wider reach. Others can feel incorporated and uplifted, infected by those wider joys. An increase of Hope can be the result. The universe is a caring, joy-filled place.

 So, I invite you to find your own connection between these two sanctuaries…whether hope is your path to greater joy, or finding your joy is your path to greater hope.  We need to find our way to access both sanctuaries in this coming year!