Joy Is Actually The Path

The Reverend Jake Morrill says that if we want to move from pain to joy, then joy is actually the path that will guide us through. “Joy is the destination and also the path. Joy is not the reward after victory but the discipline that keeps us free.”

Joy is the discipline that keeps us free.

This past week, I have trouble accessing the practice of joy. In the midst of the pain in this world and among my friends, the birdsong just doesn’t trill as brightly; the tree branches are just a tangle, instead of a hieroglyph; even my cat’s antics feel like just another set of demands.

That’s when I remember another teacher’s wisdom: Cole Arthur Riley says that joy holds all of our feelings within itself. “Joy doesn’t replace any emotion; it holds them all …” Joy is not about denying or letting go of grief or anger or any of our other feelings. Joy allows us to feel more alive.

A couple of decades ago, when I am living in New York City and feeling particularly heartbroken and despairing, I take up the practice of learning poems by heart, while walking. Striding around the reservoir in Central Park, I repeat each poem until its words rest on my heartbeat. Then I notice: the rhythm of my footsteps and the rhythm of the poem create a
new meaning I wouldn’t have found if I’d just read the poem sitting down. This changes me. I still feel grief and uncertainty, but now I also feel awakened—to a renewed sense of wonder, curiosity, and a connection with minds, hearts, and lives other than my own.

I recognize this now as joy. Joy as a container for all that aliveness brings. Joy is literally the path for me that year—the path around the reservoir and through that time of near-hopelessness to a renewed sense of possibility.

This week I am experimenting with the discipline of joy: taking an evening walk in a city park, even when I am tired; reading a book instead of turning on a show; asking for help even though I think I’m supposed to know the answer already. Sure enough, here comes that feeling of having my feet back on the path! Now, the sadness and fear stride alongside hope and curiosity. Now, life and love feel bigger than any one perspective. Now, joy can hold it all.

~The Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones