Sr. Joan Chittister, a Benedictine and well-known spiritual writer, writes this in her book, Aspects of the Heart: The Many Paths of a Good Life: The beauty of joy is that, like a stained glass window through which light breaks into a myriad of colors, it enables us to see how good life is, even when it seems that it isn’t. Joy is not an event; it is an attitude a healthy person takes into every situation in life—work, family, social life, and even moments of personal stress. It speaks of hope and openness, of enticing possibility and the deep conviction that what is given to us in life is given to us for our own good. Sr. Joan's concept of joy implies something that is more enduring than success or happy moments.
I read this the other day when I was feeling particularly low. Joy was an attitude I didn't know how to embrace in my darkness, and I wondered what it would take to rise above the clouds of my storm. Joy is a practice that requires regular cultivation in order to become deeply rooted. It is far more work than happiness, which comes and goes quickly, like the fragrance of orange blossoms at the beginning of spring. Joy is the whole orange tree, and it requires care and vigilance for its life to be sustained. Otherwise it withers, and it takes far more than a drink of water to revive it. How may I become a better cultivator of joy?
0 Comments
|
|