Joy Here In The Now

Posted on April 18, 2025 by Bob Patrick

I recently became aware of a musician I’d never heard of before, an Australian named Murray Kyle.

One of his songs is called “Here in the Now” on his album, Talisman. It’s gentle but fast, and the sounds of the words themselves are charming and soothing. 

Here in the now I am hearing the now,
As I listen and I listen
To the sound that grows on up from the ground,
Can you hear now in the here and now
Can you hear that the songs of the Earth,
She be singing in a cycle, in a circle
In a circle round with a sound
That carries the ancient memory,
Constantly, gracefully
Calling us to heal now
Stewards are we, from the inner world
To the world we see
Raising up our voices or unity.

When I listen to the song, inevitably I start smiling, and soon, if I’m standing up, I start dancing, and all of this can actually happen before I’ve had my first sip of coffee! It’s a piece of music that by its words, and by the music written as a full embodiment of those words, invites me into a moment of joy, into the here and now, into the here in the now. 

I’m including a link here so that you can listen, if you want to. 

More importantly–is there a piece of music, or a painting, or a photograph that just immediately makes you smile and invites you into joy? Maybe today, it could be the door to joy to go looking for that music or painting or photo, and answer the invitation it makes to you.  To joy. 

I am convinced that the more we entertain joy, the more likely we are to spread it and find it in the world. 

~Bob Patrick

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I Find Joy

Posted on April 17, 2025 by admin

What is Joy?
Gosh I’ve been pondering this question for 11 days now. Reading all the reflections on Words of Wisdom, listening to joyful music, taking joyful moments, even going on UUredit and asking others what small things they enjoy and do daily, weekly or monthly. 

In this query I find that people’s joyful rituals are not very different from my own daily rituals, but I never till now put a sense of jubilation on these everyday things. And in this very moment writing this reflection I remembered the 28 days of gratitude I used to do each February and every morning part of the process was writing gratitudes for 10 things in your life, you couldn’t repeat any from previous days. So of course you start off with the small things, thank you for coffee, for food, for waking up…etc. So for the first week you have gratitude for the things you find joy in having…strange how these connections are being made as I sit and write this. 

In the UUreddit thread that I put up 21 days ago there were around a dozen comments and they all said many things, exercise, meditate, reading, cup of coffee or tea, playing a musical instrument, crafting, being with family, friends, pets and people, gardening, knitting, cooking, baking, writing. 

All these people made daily, weekly or monthly rituals to do these things. They took time to find this joy in their life. 

And so… the things I find joy in my daily life…

When I wake up (well I know I wanna be… I wanna be the man who wakes up next to you…hehe) 

I find joy that my cat Benji snuggles up beside me to keep me in bed longer.

I find joy in stretching and doing the three realms protection for the day. 

My husband is already awake and I find joy in asking him if he put coffee on, even though I know he probably already has. 

I find joy in letting the dog Belle outside and telling Benji he can’t go outside and then giving in as he’s persistent with his begging. 

I find immense joy in standing outside with Belle and Benji as they do their business and I hear the birds sing the morning in (this is by far the most joyful minutes of my morning).
I find a lot of joy at 5:30 pm, and some joy in the hour drive home. 

I find joy in walking into my front door after I check the pond for any toads that may drown and being greeted by Baby, Luna, and Belle at the door. 

I find joy in leaning down to my little Belle settled on the back of the couch (till the last person comes in the door at night) and seeing her little tail just thwap back and forth on the pillow as I lean down and peck kisses on the top of her head. 

I find joy in giving my husband a kiss as we greet each other again.

I find joy in seeing my seedlings grow and become ready to transplant to their new homes. 

I find joy in dreaming of the raised beds and the garden we are preparing for this year. 

I find joy in life.

~Candice Carver

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The Little Things

Posted on April 16, 2025 by admin

If you’ve been around me long enough you know that Bob and I have a retirement baby of our own. Her name is Millie and she is a hound mix of some sort. She came to us on the very last day of December in 2019 and she has been such a source of joy for me. I wasn’t ready for it, and I didn’t completely want to go down this road again at this time in my life but… 

The way her body grew to match the size of her giant paws

The way she fills a room without a sound

When she puts her whole face into the bottom of the ice cream container to get the last bit of melted cream

How she sits quietly while we eat waiting for the plate and its delicious crumbs

How she greets Bob at the garage door all wiggles and tail up and thumping the fridge door

The way she looks out over the front yard from her day bed on the stairs

How she quickly removed the squeaker from every toy and pulls out ALL of the stuffing without eating one single piece of anything harmful (leaving us to clean everything up in her wake).

The way she methodically forages for hidden treats in her toys.

Her side eye.

I can’t imagine my life without the joy she brings. What a gift she is! 

~Lydia Patrick

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Emerging From Our Common Sorrow

Posted on April 15, 2025 by Bob Patrick

Ross Gay has written a book entitled Inciting Joy. From the first pages, he starts talking about sorrow and our experiences of it, how we hide it and run from it and try to pretend that it doesn’t exist. He focuses on sorrow so much that at one point even he, knowing where he is going, has to stop and reassure the reader. 

If it sounds like I’m advocating for sorrow,  nope. Besides, sorrow (unlike joy, apparently) doesn’t need an advocate . . .But what I am advocating, and adamantly so, is that rather than quarantining ourselves or running from sorrow, rather than warring with sorrow, we lay down our swords and invite sorrow in.

He then proceeds to imagine that we invite others to a gathering where they can “meet” our sorrow. Not just our closest friends. Not just our family or co-workers. Ultimately, anyone and everyone we encounter we find we must invite to the gathering, even individuals we hate. 

He says of the gathering as everyone arrives bringing their potluck dishes: 

 . . . at this potluck no one forgets their sorrows, which they introduce to each other, you can just barely hear it over how loud it is.

In great detail (I hope you want to read the book) he describes how this gathering becomes louder and more raucous and how people gather in small groups telling heir stories with such verve and passion, and then he concludes the description of the scene:

. . . riotous this care, this carrying, this incitement, this joy . . . My hunch is that joy is an ember for or precursor to wild and unpredictable and transgressive and unboundaried solidarity. And that that solidarity might incite further joy. Which might insider further solidarity. . . My hunch is that joy, emerging from our common sorrow–which does not necessarily mean we have the same sorrows, but that we, in common, sorrow–might draw us together. It might depoloarize us and de-atomize us enough that we can consider what, in common, we love. 

I do so very much want to explore this entry into joy at this time in our country. And it is so difficult. But here is the prospect–that I face someone who sees our situation so much differently than I do, and rather than argue my brilliant arguments, I might seek to introduce them to my sorrow and seek to gently care about theirs . . . until we can consider what in common we love. 

~Bob Patrick

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The Practice of Joy: YouTube

Posted on April 14, 2025 by admin

I don’t typically consider my adventures online as a spiritual practice, however when it comes to practicing joy in times of sorrow or frustration, YouTube is one of my go-to resources. I have discovered several new genres of music and artists this way. One of my personal favorites as a violinist is Lindsey Stirling. I love her creative music and videos. There are several that hold significant meaning for me and my life story.

I have also enjoyed The Piano Guys and other artists who are creating exciting new art with
classical instruments. I love it! Another resource on YouTube I get fulfillment from is “Cinema Therapy”. They are a duo of a filmmaker and licensed therapist who are friends and break down the emotional and psychological aspects of many of folks’ favorite movies. I learn a lot by
watching, often bringing me to tears of release as I grow in understanding myself and why I respond to certain movies the way I do. They often talk about trauma and other psychology topics, but in a fun and approachable way. The videos they produce are often 20-25 minutes long, but the content is well worth the watch.

I greatly enjoy making playlists from YouTube videos I can access anytime I feel sad, lonely, or bored and need a pick-me-up. I have my go-to videos depending on what I am feeling at the time, to express then release the tension that has built up in me. It brings me back to joy every time. Technology may not be enlightening where spirit is concerned most of the time, but using it to help me find simple joy in my day is worth the endeavor every time.

~Jen Garrison

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When Joy Comes To Visit Me

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Bob Patrick

The longer I ponder my experiences of joy, the more I am coming to think that she has some companions that travel with her–at least when she comes to visit me. I wonder if this might be similar for you. 

I wrote in an earlier reflection about one of those companions, one which we might not really want to talk much about. Sorrow. I won’t restate what I’ve already said except to say that joy is not, at least for me, a perpetual state of being. It has its endings, and those can come with sorrow, even mild sorrow. Consider that most gorgeous sunset that surpasses all that you have ever seen. There is transcendent joy in beholding it, but within minutes you realize that it is fading away right in front of your eyes. We experience, in that moment, sorrow, even a little one. We may never see a sunset like that one every again, but wow! Was that magnificent!  Sorrow is a companion of joy. 

Several years ago, I realized after a series of events, that “joy” was not a word that showed up much in my vocabulary. That disturbed me. So, I began to search for joy in my life and ways to access it. What I found, for me, is that sincere gratitude opens the possibility for joy. The gratitude can be for a small thing or a huge thing. It just needs to be sincere. And when it is, I seem to walk through it like a doorway into a bountiful place called joy. Gratitude is a companion of joy when she comes to visit me. 

To bring this reflection full circle, I can see joy coming for her visits these days with sorrow on one arm and between her and gratitude, linked in both their arms is love. Fo me, love is the glue that links me to other beings whose presence in my life change me, move me, inspire me, encourage me to be my fuller self–and I seem to do that for them. When I experience these things through love, joy is there, because, love is a companion of joy when she comes to visit me. 

~Bob Patrick

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Simple Activity

Posted on April 10, 2025 by admin

During the service on April 6 entitled, “Surprised by Joy”, we were asked to think about the things that bring us joy.

In that simple activity I found myself doodling about those small moments over the last week where I found myself smiling or breathing a bit easier. 

I noticed what others brought up to the chalice table and smiled over bits and bobs of meaning the beloved community chose to share. 

I doodled a pair of goggles and thought about how much joy I get in the pool propelling  myself from one end to the other over and over again listening to those songs I have picked out specifically for how they speak to me. The first 30 minutes feel like a marathon, the second 30 feel better but still uphill even though the lane and the water and the motion is the same. The cooldown though.. Is everything. 

I doodled music notes and stems and key signatures and thought about how I feel singing with our own covenant choir.  I thought about  rocking the grands while singing all of those simple rhymes and melodies hoping that they will remember their Noni and how she sang to them and with them one day when they no longer fit in the crook of my arms or get too big for Noni’s lap. 

I doodled a tree and a path around it thinking about the walks I take and the books on tape that have healed me and helped me finish so many journeys I didn’t think I would ever see the end of. 

I gave note to other moments that will remain held in the quiet sanctuary of my heart – but ALL of which brought me joy. 

Blessed Be

~ Lydia Patrick

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