Friday, March 16, 2018

JOY




Hi There !

So, how do you do your dishes?

Hope it's with Joy -

not necessarily the detergent, Joy,

but certainly with the spirit of joy.



Joy is to the spirit

as health is to the body,

as happiness is to the emotions -

the result of being right and real.

Things are right as they are meant to be,

properly in place,

harmonized in foundational reality.



When they are not,

the body experiences dis-ease,

the emotions un-happiness,

the spirit dis-stressed dis-quiet.



Conversely, when things are right and real,

the body is healthy,

the emotions are happy,

the spirit is serene.



Happiness and joy are not the same thing.

Happiness is how we feel emotionally.

Joy is how we are at our core

when we really are there,

rooted real and right in God.

Actually, we can be unhappy

and yet joyful at the same time.

Please permit a personal example

of what on the surface

seems to be different than it is.



As a young man

I went through a period

of vocational confusion

and left the seminary.

Back in those so different days,

the 1950's,

that was just this side of a mortal sin.

I was socially suspect,

a failed soul.

On the train home

I was not a happy camper,

yet there was a steadiness of soul,

a rightness down deep,

a joy of spirit.

As emotionally and socially uncomfortable

as things were,

at my core they were real and right,

rooted in God.

They were what they needed to be

at that moment in my evolving spirit.

That was quite a grace and learning.



Joy is a serene steadiness and strength of spirit.

Joy is a zest and exuberance of spirit.

Joy flows from being rooted right and real in

Being Itself, in Reality Itself, in Existence Itself,

in the Limitless Life and Love Energy

that is God.

"Joy is the infallible sign of God's presence,"

( Leon Bloy in a letter to Jacques Maritain ),

and our presence

rooted real and right in God.

Like all else in the spiritual life,

it comes down to being

as and who and where

we actually and really are -

a being in Being,

a spirit centered in The Source,

endlessly evolving

in The Mystery of God,

in The Mystery of Love/Life.

Our spiritual lives are

a waking up to that,

embracing that,

living that,

and no matter how things are

with the body and emotions,

being exuberantly joyful.



We may or may not like doing the dishes,

but we can always do them

and everything else in life with

              JOY.

 ***************************



     After Thought



Metaphor is the only way

to stammer about the divine.

Here's a simple, plain metaphor

for our spirituality out here

on the street of everyday life.

Consider an engine -

told you the metaphor was

plain and simple!!

When all the parts and processes

of an engine

are arranged right and real,

rooted in the reality

of what an engine

is all about,

the engine hums and purses.

Joy is like the hummimg and purring

of an engine.

(Not sure that even Charles Wesley

 could work that one into a hymn!!).

******************************************************************************


               HOLY WEEK



Next week 's posting here will be both an

                 INVITATION

                        and

                  
                RESOURCES

                        for

       A HOLY WEEK RETREAT

                        on

                 SOLITUDE.



Materials, considerations,

and meditation prompts

will be presented

for a daily time of solitude,

prayer and reflection,

for the entire week.

The posting is not crafted

for a quick or one time exposure.

In other words, it will be

an extensive presentation to be used

part by part for the seven days of Holy Week.



*********************************************************************************





              
Thanks for the blessing of your company.

See you next week.

Oh yes !

If you have time and interest,

there are all sorts of prompts

for prayer and reflection

in this season of lent

offered the Meditation Markers that follow.


Holding each and all in

God's Dear Love,

    John Frank


****************************************



      MEDITATION MARKERS


Suggestions:

  - find a time and place

    where you can  separate

    from the clamor and stimulation of noise

    around you and within you

    "Be still and know that I am God."

     (Psalm 46:10)

   - breath slowly, gently, deeply

   - just be still in The Still Point.

   - in a leisurely manner

     start with the first

     Meditation Marker.

   - if it connects,

     say it to yourself

     a time or two.

   - just sit with it,

     let it speak its truth to your spirit.

  - if that does not happen,

    just move on to the next few

   until one does connect.

 - consider one or two a day

 - do your best not to feel rushed,

    or compelled to

    "cover them all."

         *****



- "The joy of the Lord is your strength."

                                  Nehemiah 8:10


-  In joy we

       - live simply
   
       - behave humbly

       - dress modestly

       - pray freely

       - think wisely

       - worship  communally

       - act kindly

       - smile honestly

       - speak trustfully

       - love sincerely

       - champion justice

       - cherish nature

       - companion the needful

            Adaptation of a piece

            from an unknown author



- "...joy is a key indicator of a healthy spirituality.

  Joy, in the classic sense, is not a synonym for

  happiness, but instead refers to a zest for life.

  You can have an underlying zest for life

  whether you are happy or whether you are sad.

  The opposite of joy is not sorrow,

  the opposite of joy is apathy.

   01-14-11  (new-wood.blogspot.com)

                       David Backes


- "Let your joy be in your journey -

  not in some distant goal."

                        Tim Cook


- "If you  carry joy in your heart,

  you can heal any moment."

                         Carlos Santana


- "I define joy as a sustained sense

   of well being and internal peace -

   a connection to what matters"

                          Oprah Winfrey


- " The prospect of the righteous is joy..."

                           Proverbs 10:28


- "These things I have spoken to you,

   that my joy may be in you,

   and that your joy may be full."

                             Jesus

                       ( John 15:11 )


- "You make known to me the path of life;

   in your presence there is fullness of joy."

                              Psalm 16:11


- "For the Kingdom of God

    is not a matter of eating and drinking,

    but of righteousness, peace,

    and joy in the Holy Spirit."

                                 Romans 14:17


                        *****