What is joy? Part 1

After having written about Alice Herz-Sommer I couldn’t stop thinking about joy itself. What it truly is, what it means. How to find it, how to keep it. A friend connected joy and the knowledge of being able to give something. I thought I knew what joy is, I certainly know how it feels like. I also know something about joy’s power to give immunity from disappointment and facilitate healing. But as joy is endless so I continue to learn more. This train of thought evolved into an inspiring „joy project", and this short post is one result of my quest.

In Psalm 16 a poet and spiritual listener wrote: „Thou wilt show me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy.“ It came to me in the early morning hours a few days ago to turn this Biblical promise into a prayer, by diving deeper into the individual parts of this wonderful, singing, poetic Psalm. Eugene Peterson writes: „Now you’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of Your face."

Here we go: "In Thy presence is fulness of joy."

Thy - that is Life’s presence, Truth’s presence, Love’s presence.

Thy presence - that is God’s reality and existence, in Her being, in His companionship, in His/Her authenticity. His/Her company and personal appearance.

In Thy presence is - that is, right now, in the present. Not only tomorrow or next year, but in this moment, in every moment.

In Thy presence is fulness - that is, completeness, totality, wholeness, being completely filled to utmost capacity, in the fullest state or degree.

In Thy presence is fulness of joy - a state of happiness and belonging, a feeling of great delight caused by something good, complete satisfaction and peace, a sense of appreciation and being valued, contentment, comfort, delight, bliss.

I let my prayer wander, like feet on a delightful meadow of ideas and move out into the open. It started like this:

"In Thy presence is fulness of joy." In Life’s authenticity is a completeness of great delight. In Truth’s reality is wholeness of appreciation. In Love’s company is the full load of total satisfaction. 

"In Thy presence is fulness of joy." A Bible commentator praises this Psalm as worthy of being written in letters of gold. And written in letters of gold is this insight into the nature of joy by Willa Cather: "At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.“ (from her novel My Ántonia)

„In Thy presence is fulness of joy."