My daughter has decided I'm like the weirdest mom in the whole world and has taken to calling me a hippie. Which is fine, I am a hippie as you can probably tell from my Substack name. Before bedtime, is always the only time she wants to talk, so I roll with it. So, I wanted to give her some historical context about how hippies got their start, which led to us talking about the Vietnam War and communism and military strategies to contain communism. She was then worried that communists were going to take over the world. And I was just like, oh that is so far down the list of things you should worry about. The funniest was afterward, I told my husband, "In case you run into any questions tomorrow, Rita and I were just talking about communism."
I love this! And what is it with kids and bedtime convos? That's when mine start asking all these deep questions, I think just to delay having to actually go to bed!
There is definitely a stalling component. My daughter likes to avoid the direct eye contact too. Taking the dog for a walk together often gets her talking about things she wouldn't otherwise too.
Your reflection on the importance of joy reminded me of a book I loved and would highly recommend: "Aggressively Happy" by Joy Marie Clarkson. She argues that happiness is a spiritual practice, and it is well worth the read!
Oh that is the perfect poem for this concept. Mary Oliver might be showing up in some future posts - many like to call her the "chaplain's poet." Some of the others you listed I've read, but some I haven't, so I will add these to my list to discover. Thanks!
Love this, Christine! We get to choose how we spend our moments, what we view, who we hang out with, how we spend our spare minutes. By now, hopefully we know what makes us feel heavy, overwhelmed, and anxious. Let's purposefully head in the opposite direction.
And I’m also only interested in consuming joyful content. On tv, that means things like the great British Baking Show and American Ninja Warrior. And for books, I’m all in on the rom-coms too. I just finished “The very secret society of irregular witches” and loved it. I’m excited to see what’s on your list!
Both of those shows are lovely, I haven't watched them in years, but trying to get my kiddos into them. And thanks for the book rec, I'll add that to my list and send you my favs. Heading over to check out your post now!
Thank you! I have a daily joy ritual. I cross two bridges on my way to work, which give a lovely view of the Maine coast. I make sure to always take in the view and not miss the moment. This way I get some joy twice and day.
That's also perfect that your joy occurs in your transitional commute time. I find myself thinking a lot about the rituals we do to prep us for work and to leave work and return home.
It brings me joy that one of my favorite Rabbis is giving the charge at a Presbyterian ordination! Warms my multi-faith loving heart. I can't wait to hear how it went!
This is such a beautiful piece Christine. One of the practices I cherish from my spiritual director training was the ability to hold multiple truths--even if they are diametrically opposed like joy and woe. I love the concept of double joy and how joy is a mindset--so true. Thanks again, Christine
A smile or a sharing of experience from a grandchild.
A former student speaking and identifying themselves.
Trees, nature and the sounds of nature!
Music.
JOY is a word found in many places in my home…because I claimed Joy when I realized the woe and joy interwoven in my life enrich one another in my spiritual journey. Thank you for this post!
We have coffee in common! I also got a few emails from folks that talked about their grandchildren, so you are in good company there. And how lovely that the legacy of your educator work continues to bring you joy through connecting with former students.
Love this so much. I go through seasons like you described where I have to be very intentional about what I watch, read, etc. I'm there now actually. Making an intention towards the positive really does help.
I'm glad you are being gentle with yourself in this season. Those times can be hard to identify, so you are ahead of the game with knowing you are in that space. I hope you get what you need and like this dreary winter in the East Coast, Spring comes soon for you.
I don’t mean to keep commenting but: Yes! Romance during pandemic! Me too! My rule for the first couple years was I could only read those written by WOC. Then I focused on LGBTQIA+ identifying people. Those rules opened up worlds beyond what I had known before. So rich and engaging and FUN.
Comment away! I love it, lots of joy reading thorugh these. I'm compiling my list and will send to you soon. My guess is we'd have some overlap, so we'll have to compare notes.
A couple jokes for you...
1. What is a beavers favorite month to cut down trees?
A. Sept-timberrrr
2. What did one earthquake say to the other?
A. It's not my fault
LOL! I tried them out on my kids. The first one was a hit, the second one devolved in my attempt to explain seismology to a 7 year old!
Yeah, that one is for an older crowd, though seismology probably went better than when I tried to explain communism to an 8 year old (long story)
Now that is a story I'd want to hear!
I forgot to tell you the story!
My daughter has decided I'm like the weirdest mom in the whole world and has taken to calling me a hippie. Which is fine, I am a hippie as you can probably tell from my Substack name. Before bedtime, is always the only time she wants to talk, so I roll with it. So, I wanted to give her some historical context about how hippies got their start, which led to us talking about the Vietnam War and communism and military strategies to contain communism. She was then worried that communists were going to take over the world. And I was just like, oh that is so far down the list of things you should worry about. The funniest was afterward, I told my husband, "In case you run into any questions tomorrow, Rita and I were just talking about communism."
I love this! And what is it with kids and bedtime convos? That's when mine start asking all these deep questions, I think just to delay having to actually go to bed!
There is definitely a stalling component. My daughter likes to avoid the direct eye contact too. Taking the dog for a walk together often gets her talking about things she wouldn't otherwise too.
Your reflection on the importance of joy reminded me of a book I loved and would highly recommend: "Aggressively Happy" by Joy Marie Clarkson. She argues that happiness is a spiritual practice, and it is well worth the read!
Excellent, thanks for the recommendation - I am adding it to my TBR list right now.
Also, don’t know if you know this poem by Mary Oliver, but it’s relevant here:
“We shake with joy, we shake with grief.
What a time they have, these two
housed as they are in the same body.”
(Also poetry brings me joy. Ross Gay…Claudia Emerson…Naomi Shihab Nye…Danusha Lameris….Marilyn Nelson…Maggie Smith…Joy Ladin….)
Oh that is the perfect poem for this concept. Mary Oliver might be showing up in some future posts - many like to call her the "chaplain's poet." Some of the others you listed I've read, but some I haven't, so I will add these to my list to discover. Thanks!
Love this, Christine! We get to choose how we spend our moments, what we view, who we hang out with, how we spend our spare minutes. By now, hopefully we know what makes us feel heavy, overwhelmed, and anxious. Let's purposefully head in the opposite direction.
Yes, when we can, embracing joy can make such a signficant difference! And I could do a whole other post on who not to hang out with!
I love all of this, Christine! I’m all about finding and amplifying the joy. (I wrote about about this a little while ago: https://open.substack.com/pub/kelseyabbott/p/amplifying-your-joy-with-inconspicuous?r=2ygkz5&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post)
And I’m also only interested in consuming joyful content. On tv, that means things like the great British Baking Show and American Ninja Warrior. And for books, I’m all in on the rom-coms too. I just finished “The very secret society of irregular witches” and loved it. I’m excited to see what’s on your list!
Both of those shows are lovely, I haven't watched them in years, but trying to get my kiddos into them. And thanks for the book rec, I'll add that to my list and send you my favs. Heading over to check out your post now!
Have you watched the Great British Baking Show with kids? It’s overflowing with joy! I’m ridiculously excited for your book list!
Not yet, my youngest wants to be a chef (today anyway) so I'm hoping to get him to watch! Emailing you my list now.
Thank you! I have a daily joy ritual. I cross two bridges on my way to work, which give a lovely view of the Maine coast. I make sure to always take in the view and not miss the moment. This way I get some joy twice and day.
That's also perfect that your joy occurs in your transitional commute time. I find myself thinking a lot about the rituals we do to prep us for work and to leave work and return home.
This brings me joy!
And I’m doubling down!! I’m going to quote you this afternoon when I offer the charge at a former student’s Ordination. Thank you!!!
It brings me joy that one of my favorite Rabbis is giving the charge at a Presbyterian ordination! Warms my multi-faith loving heart. I can't wait to hear how it went!
Yes and amen. Appreciate what you said about grief at the holidays…
Thanks for the follow!
Thanks for reading and I'm sure you are intimately familiar with grief at the holidays. Blessings on you as you navigated all that with your family.
"When someone comments or subscribes..." made me laugh! I totally get it. Also I love the mental picture of a physician tap-dancing.
Nothing like a shameless plug!
This is such a beautiful piece Christine. One of the practices I cherish from my spiritual director training was the ability to hold multiple truths--even if they are diametrically opposed like joy and woe. I love the concept of double joy and how joy is a mindset--so true. Thanks again, Christine
Thanks, yes SD training certainly teaches us to hold that paradox well.
I'm going to have to make a list. Thanks so much for the nudge!
I look forward to hearing what's on it!
Early morning visits with the moon.
That morning coffee!
A smile or a sharing of experience from a grandchild.
A former student speaking and identifying themselves.
Trees, nature and the sounds of nature!
Music.
JOY is a word found in many places in my home…because I claimed Joy when I realized the woe and joy interwoven in my life enrich one another in my spiritual journey. Thank you for this post!
We have coffee in common! I also got a few emails from folks that talked about their grandchildren, so you are in good company there. And how lovely that the legacy of your educator work continues to bring you joy through connecting with former students.
I also agree that the sound of music is the best movie!!
This summer, while on a river cruise vacation, I insisted that we take a 6 hour road trip to Salzburg to see where it was filmed!
Love this so much. I go through seasons like you described where I have to be very intentional about what I watch, read, etc. I'm there now actually. Making an intention towards the positive really does help.
I'm glad you are being gentle with yourself in this season. Those times can be hard to identify, so you are ahead of the game with knowing you are in that space. I hope you get what you need and like this dreary winter in the East Coast, Spring comes soon for you.
I don’t mean to keep commenting but: Yes! Romance during pandemic! Me too! My rule for the first couple years was I could only read those written by WOC. Then I focused on LGBTQIA+ identifying people. Those rules opened up worlds beyond what I had known before. So rich and engaging and FUN.
So yes indeed, would love your recs!
Comment away! I love it, lots of joy reading thorugh these. I'm compiling my list and will send to you soon. My guess is we'd have some overlap, so we'll have to compare notes.
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