JOYFUL PIECE #101
Is grief a bag too full?
After reading the meditation in the link further below I went looking for citations of joy in the Bible.
The citations associated joy with group sharing, meals, feasts… not with hoarding or winning. Safety was a function of sharing in community, and the process AND outcome was joy.
Is our current political angst the product of excessive self-focusing and fear? Can a shift in focus from self to other be the path to joy that we seek and need?
I do not know. Do you?
https://email.cac.org/t/d-e-shupx-tlkrjkkrtk-yh/
In these challenging times, self-compassion must take precedence. Raising oneself to God or a higher power, if you will, is not as easy as it may appear. As I have heard it spoken by those in the religious community, the voices behind a united and reverent congregation in a church can be the voice of God. That is why Trump is so evil--he has turned evangelicals into cult members.
Compassion is the key.
Yuval Harari was interviewed yesterday afternoon on Ari Melber (MSNBC) regarding Trump's "mid-evil politics." I appreciated his perspective on how division and fear lead to power and control tactics ... he stated that the purpose of leadership is to build safety - from a position of safety, humans have the capacity to share, to explore, create - love and joy. We've elected leaders, we sit in churches (other religious buildings) where leaders fill us with fear - choose leadership that inspires safety, teaches compassion, celebrates joy. Be that leadership when possible for others!!