Joyful Piece #40
The joy of play...
Image by Kikaputv, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
The days of free play were the best…
Pick-up games of baseball, or basketball, or marbles, or new and imaginative creations…
I would get lost in those games, time would vanish, scores did not linger in our minds for long. The team members were chosen randomly, without regard to economic status, race, creed, politics. Our dearly held beliefs and convictions were relinquished to the winds, and something took over us and we were lost in the oblivion of delight. Where have those days gone?
Today I am drawn to reminisce because last night we watched The Beautiful Game on Netflix. It is a story founded on the heartbreak and despair of physical and spiritual homelessness. That fertile soil of pain and suffering allows the blossoming of joy within the context of a game, called soccer by Americans and football by the rest of humanity.
Caught up in the culture of fast wins and losses in adulthood, I never appreciated soccer/football as I do now. To me it is a game of grace, skill, and joy, with players taking turns in dancing their skills before our eyes. It is true that for those chasing the swan song of dollars and shekels the magic of the game can get obscured. But if I listen to the song of joy a different reality emerges.
The delight in the pure joy of free play and the long-ago days of “disorganized” sports beckons mightily.
In the deepest nooks of my soul, I crave joy. And I believe that the same is true for all beings, as we witness in the play of children, puppies, calves, fawns, ponies, kittens and so many other innocent beings— while they remain innocent.
I wish all a joyful week, where we may partake, at some point, in some free play or activity— where winning and losing are supplanted by just being. Reality may return at some point, but the joyful moments are ours forever… even ¾ of a century later.
In 2022 and 2023, my word for the year (yea, I do that sort of thing : ) was "en-joy" ... infuse with joy! This was my reminder that joy isn't a passive state, but rather one that I participate in - infuse the joy into life. 2024, my word is "en-courage." Yep! Infuse with courage. Here's how it goes (imagine the first letter larger and in bold : ) Reading your posts, Manuel, is a moment of joy.
My Word for 2024
Could it be possible to
Overcome obstacles, to
Understand inadequacy as undernourished heart
Running amok –
Admittedly masquerading as self-protection
Grounded in limitations, and self-imposed
Excuses?
Could it be possible to
Open to acts of valor utterly
Unfamiliar yet compelling,
Running head-long into risk and revelation –
Admittedly defying all common sense,
Grounded in possibility, and
Endless Love?
Yes.
We;; said and true. I had the opportunity to view the solar eclipse this week in its totality. What a joyous experience to behold. Joy is everywhere - .find it!