So I have been wondering this week — in the height of the holiday frenzy –“What is JOY? What is this all about, really?” After receiving at least a dozen holiday cards with JOY boldly printed in on them, I was feeling quite provoked to know more. For today, I am looking beyond Psalm 126:5 and John 15:11, for as much as I love those scriptures, there is more to explore concerning joy.
I wrote a few words about this here on 12/21/09, and then two days later I just happened to come across this beautiful and astute description of joy — totally by “accident,” I was not in research mode at all. This is just more evidence of the not so hidden nature of the Universe, this thing we poetically call synchronicity…those amazing coincidences that occur regularly.
The surprise came in from left field…my husband and I were at the Lyric Stage in Boston the other night to see a play. We had arrived early, so I picked up some of the free local cultural periodicals that were available. One of them was Boston Seniority (Nov. 2009, Vol. 33, Issue 8). In an article entitled “The Pursuit of Joy,” Cassandra Baptista, an Emerson student, described an unlikely meeting she had with Clarence Washington, 74.
While they sit on a park bench at the Kelleher Rose Garden in the Back Bay, Washington shares his colorful adventures and highlights some of his bizarre career choices, a truly exhilarating zig zag of living, and finishes with his spontaneous definition of joy:
“I don’t know what my life was about,”
Washington said, “but I know this much:
joy is the one thing we are all searching
for. Joy is a groove. Joy moves and expands
like heat. You have to replenish
it. Joy is it. Whatever you’re doing, ask
yourself, ‘Are you having a good time?’ If
you have joy, nothing will ever be against
you.”
I read this and smiled to myself…I loved Washington’s description of joy. “Joy is a groove…” Yes, joy is a vibrational frequency…we are either in the joy vibration or not. It is my personal and professional goal to spend more time in the joy vibration and help others get there and stay there, too.
Plus, the Universe is clearly listening to my thoughts…offering up great answers to my queries. How good is that? More fingerprints of God, the Oneness, or as I liked to think, JOY = Just One You!
What does joy mean to you? I’d love to hear…’tis the season to share your joy…do tell! This is clearly the topic du jour…
©2009 by Lisa Wessan. All rights reserved.
The Lighter Side of Transformation 
Thanks for your wisdom
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thanks for your wisdom. I love reading your blog
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I loved the quote you shared with me re: Voluntary Simplicity — did you see that? 😉
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At random, I decided to Google my name, and your blog popped up! Thank you so much for reading my article in Boston’s Seniority Magazine. Clarence has a great philosophy on life, and I’m so happy you enjoyed the piece.
Please check out my blog at http://thebackyardbeat.blogspot.com/. New stories will be up soon & and I’d love to hear your take. Thanks again!
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