Dear Caminoheads,
Today I am inspired to write, but I have just disconnected from my work computer and I am not sure my brain still works in order to compose a decent post, and even more in English! And NO!, I am not a workaholic (although I love my job); it is the result of a very busy week, the weather has been too hot, a siesta called almost daily after lunch time under the air conditioning and a dark room, COVID is rampant worldwide and many colleagues are out of the office unexpectedly, and the workload “socialized”…
Anyway… It is Friday! What am I complaining about?!
Back to the topic of the week, I can start drafting some thoughts, all started with this blessing Ron got before going to the Camino, Phil’s reflections that I posted yesterday, Ron’s comment a couple days ago, and this 3 letters word: JOY.
The first thing that came to my mind was to think which is the word in Spanish for “JOY”… and when and in which context I would use it. Then, I thought of “HAPPINESS” and did the same. And then, I looked up these 2 words in the dictionary, and did the same with the words in Spanish “Alegría” and “Felicidad”. Let me tell you: it wasn’t helpful because somehow, the dictionary thinks that “Alegría” and “Felicidad” are the same, which I am not so sure they are… because we have the same feeling with the words in English, right? (Or at least, Ron has!!! He also thinks “Joy” is different from “Happiness”)
Then, I started to think on other words, one I use very often with a Canadian friend who is my “JOY-buddy” because we met online in an “Awakening Joy” course, is “enJOY” and that is how we write it, “enJOY”.
On Wednesday, I thought about “Sister Joyce”, Phil’s friend, spiritual director, and fellow motorized pilgrim, who also is a magazine cover star along Phil at almost 90… well, there you go, she is JOYce.
Then, I decided to google the word Joy and the first thing that appears is “Joy in Greek”. I clicked and voilá… read this:
“The Greek translation of joy is CHARA, derived from the word CHARIS, which is the Greek word for GRACE. This is important to note, for it tells us categorically that chara is produced by charis of God. This means joy is not a human-based happiness that comes and goes.”
Now, with this definition and at this time of the night, I definitely cannot write conclusions… so instead I will let this “sit” for reflection… but if someone is awake early, or cannot sleep, or is west to me in the timezone, please come and do the reflection first. It is not for being lazy, but this blog needs other voices!!!!
enJOYing loves,
Cris
Thank you Cris for putting in words much of my own Joy research a few years ago. I have not arrived at full understanding and I want to warn all of you that these are my feelings at this point in my journey and should not be confused with the truth, or as a suggestion that you adopt my current Joy definition. No, quite the opposite, please work on this yourself.
Anyway, I feel what I think of as Joy often and I feel Happy almost all the time. It would take a book length story to tell you how, but you have this in your own life to think about. Maybe I’ll write that book one day to share with you, who knows.
Anyway, the mystery for me is the times when I do feel what I call Joy and I don’t feel Happy. They are rare, but they do happen. The one that comes to mind involved relationships, the most important thing in my life. When an unintended break in a relationship happens I am not Happy but I can still feel Joy.
What do you think about Joy in your life? Help me understand this very special concept.
We are off for a walk today to Val de San Lorenzo and it is below freezing, quite different than Cris’s temperatures.
enJOY your weekend