Feeling the Pleasures, Swimming in Joy
Yesterday, St. Johnny (of the Cross) reminded me (and consequently you) how to find (or “swim in”) true joy—bend the entirety of your life around service to the Divine Love of God. Yes, that’s a mountain of a task, and I often fall a few rises short of the peak. It is true: There are times I don’t suppose I’m “serving God,” as St. Johnny would say, and so, I find myself wading in the toe-waters of joy instead of swimming in its ocean.
It is true; I’m no different than any other human. Instead of serving God when my joy tank is empty, I turn to my pet pleasures. I assert my opinions on the news du jour on the forum du jour. I fall into work—writing, photo editing, cranking out legal documents. I buy another book I don’t need, spend time I don’t have reading it, and often find the experience luxuriously dissapointing. (For instance, I recently bought a shit horror novel because I thought it might entertain me for a few hours. It did not.) But does that mean that news, art, and literature cannot lead to joy per se?
I’m no guru, but I’m going all-in on my answer to that question: No.
I’ve mulled over the words of the Cross-figured Johnny over these last 24 hours, and it seems to me that a component of “serving God,” is using all created things as intended. Can’t we serve God by listening to the news and partnering with God to respond to the crises of the day? Can’t we use our work—writing, photo editing, any old work—to recreate the world into something more beautiful, more Divine? Can’t engage art gratefully (and graciously), thanking the Creator for gifting us the Divine spark of creation? Aren’t these all ways of recognizing, and thereby serving the Divine?
An Examination: Today, grab your journal, your grocery list, or a spent envelope, and start a new sort of list. Write down those things you might be prone to treat as vices. Next, imagine what it might look like to recognize the goodness of God in those things, and to pursue only that goodness. Imagine what it might look like to serve God using those created things. (Caveat: If your particular mechanism is heroin, binge drinking, porn, or gambling, skip this exercise and seek a qualified therapist.)
***WAKE UP WITH ME***
THE BOOK OF WAKING UP —a book on addiction, attachment, and the Divine Love—launched TUESDAY so order a copy or ten at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookish (my favorite indie bookseller). Then, forward this post to a friend and ask them to read along.