Why joy?

I awoke this morning feeling somewhat joyful. It might be because on Friday I had my first vaccine (yay!) with the promise that the end of the pandemic is in sight, and a return to some semblance of normality. Or it might be because I have been reading a variety of books that have nourished my soul—from mediation, to guitar building, to taijiquan—that have added to my sense of well-being. Or it might just be one of those spontaneous joyful moods that sneak up on you out of the blue. And thank God for them! It's likely to be all three and more beside. "But why analyze?" you might say, "Just enjoy the feeling." Fair enough, and I shall. But analysis is what I do!

What is the source of joy? At a superficial level, when nice things happen to us we feel happy. But I suspect joy is less fleeting and more like a steady state. Not that you live in a constant bliss, but more like something deep inside your psyche is connected, content and at peace—less subject to changes in circumstances.

In the Yijing, Hexagram 58 is Dui, joy. The hexagram is composed of two identical  trigrams—a yin line above two yang lines, lake, the youngest daughter. Two lakes side by side, where each lake joins and feeds the other, while each remain distinct. The commentary of the Hexagram suggests the two lakes represent the inner and the outer worlds. Jack Balkin  comments "The yin line symbolizes openness, receptivity, and gentleness toward the outside world. The yang lines symbolize strength and stability within." Joy arises from inner stability and balance, with an acceptance and tolerance of the outside world.

The two lakes might represent, too, the material and non-material aspects of life—the inner and the outer worlds. I am neither a materialist or a spiritualist. The one sees everything that exists as epiphenomenal of physicality; the other that the world of the mind, or spirit, has precedence over material aspects of life. Nature gives us both, so why choose between them? Human being is to exist in the inner and the outer, the connectedness to all of nature through materiality, animality, and the connection to consciousness, the divine within, through mind, spirit, and imagination.

Joy arises in the balance of the inner and outer worlds—stability and strength within, connection and kindness without. So while joy does from time to time surprise us, it is more likely to surprise us when our inner life is carefully nurtured and our outer connections are infused with kindness and openness. The balance of both inner and outer worlds requires practice, patience, time, in a phrase gong fu. Beautiful music, though appearing effortless and spontaneous, is the product of practice. The seemingly effortless flow of the taijiquan master is the product of thousands of hours of mundane movement. Joy, though arising spontaneously, will more often arrive if linked to a life practice—inner and outer nurture and discipline.

Today I shall enjoy the gift of joy—and continue my practice,

Be well,

+Ab. Andy