Discovering Joy

Good Morning All,

I have heard it said most of my life that “communication is the name of the game…” And I take that to mean that communicating well is the key to understanding everything—certainly can be said of learning, any and all sorts of relationships, as well as local, national & world events. This being said, I have begun to realize that I am more of a “news junkie” than I once thought. I find myself listening to the latest news when I’m driving; I watch whatever news/sports channel is on at the Wellness Center; I catch one if not more of the local evening news; one of the evening national news; and if I’m awake, I’ll tune into the local evening news. And then to top it off, if there’s any sort of crisis going on, I find my way to CNN. And of course I also read the morning paper each day.

Well, lately, we have the never-ending political campaigns; advances of the Taliban in Afghanistan ; the war in Iraq ; concerns about Pakistan , N. Korea & Iran ; not to mention the increased numbers of deaths. We see the news about the destruction, deaths, financial ruin and homelessness from the storms, fires and floods throughout our country; the economic gloom and doom from Wall Street to our street—rising unemployment; the devastating housing market and rising gasoline & food prices; killer tomatoes—just checking to see if you’re really reading this :); the local reports of murders, rapes & robberies…I just want to stand on the top of a mountain and scream those memorable words from a last century musical/movie, “Stop the World, I Want to Get Off!”

And this sentiment doesn’t stop with all of these concerns , but it spills over a bit closer to home in our day to day lives...adjusting to tracked out children being at home; summertime boredom with teens; relationship issues with growing children, grown children, aging parents; other family members; colleagues, friends and neighbors; worrying about friends & family in the military; declining health; loss of meaningful work; lack of health insurance; graduation with no job in sight; balancing the home budget and wondering if you can afford that summer vacation or weekend getaway…fill in the blanks with any other issues…

Whew! Is it any wonder we want to stop the world and get off for a while…” But knowing that communication is the key to a meaningful life and at the same time allowing my life to be inundated/almost smothered in news reports about the ills of this world, are two different things. I’m a realist and I know that wanting to disassociate myself from the concerns of my own life and the world, is first and foremost unfaithful and therefore makes it not an option.

So I am trying to expose myself to less media information and to concentrate more on filling my life with more good news…with God’s Good News—praying to God for strength to make it through each day; a sense of renewed energy for facing whatever comes my way; compassion for the never-ending cries of this needy world; finding ways to help without suffering from compassion-fatigue, numbness and indifference. I am committed to listening & looking for ways to fill my heart with pure, unadulterated JOY!

So I leave you with an exchange between a 3 year old granddaughter, Maggie, and her grandmother, Queenie, on a recent beach vacation with the whole family. Maggie was having such fun running through the water as the waves broke on shore with Queenie watching closely. It was a picture-perfect day. You couldn’t help but see and feel the pure joy Maggie was experiencing. She turns and stops for a brief moment, looks up at her grandmother and says, “You guys make my heart happy!” :)

Ah, yes…in the midst of all that is disturbing, may you experience all that is holy, discovering heart-happy moments today and every day…Blessings, Joanne