JOYFUL PIECE #87

Resist from joyful foundations

Resilience leads to success.

We must stay resilient while resisting the fascists GOP ranks. This struggle may last a while.

If I stay glued to the news in the various media streams some negative things occur.

First, I fail to use my available time for positive actions. Time is precious and I must be ready to act on the right resistance opportunities effectively.

Second, the constant negativity degrades my mood. Staying upbeat is very important to maintain a clear mind ready for effective action.

Here are a couple of things that I try to do:

1. To effectively use my time, I prepare a reasonably short list of the activities to which I will devote time and effort each day— a “Plan of The Day”. This concentrated effort allows execution of positive actions, giving me a sense of satisfaction that works with the next point.

2. Staying positive requires a foundation of Joy. And this foundation cannot be willed into existence. Like any solid house foundation, Joy must be deliberately built with quality materials, engineered to be resilient day in and day out. And it must be maintained to prevent deterioration. To build a foundation of Joy:

- I choose what I read. Ranting texts are unhelpful. I choose constructive, truthful readings from a variety of sources that build me up spiritually.

- I also choose to read current events pieces to help me plan the items to include in my Plan of The Day.

- I avoid newscasts as they are mostly accompanied by music and hyperbole specifically chosen to appeal to my emotions and keep me glued to them for the financial benefit of others.

One of the important lessons that I have come across in recent weeks, from Cynthia Bourgeault, is to promote love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control and to shun greed, entitlement, indifference, group-think, mass hysteria, addiction, violence, isolation, and suspicion. This keeps me spiritually and emotionally on track and builds my foundation of Joy.

I am imperfect and frequently inconsistent in applying what I have noted above. But, when I apply those practices, I am filled with a sense of purpose and determination that I am on the right track, and I can build a much stronger foundation of Joy and repair the chinks in it from the negative effects of the tyranny that we face.

We need to build and maintain a strong foundation of Joy for maximum effectiveness against the forces of greed, power and fascism.

There is no pushbutton for Joy— it requires work.

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