Joy that lasts a lifetime. Laughter that lasts a moment.
Do you wonder what joy is? The dictionary describes it as ‘a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.’* That feels, somehow, lacking. The definition seems to rely heavily on a set of immediate circumstances. However when I look at the people I’ve known who I’d describe as joyful, circumstances weren’t the defining reason. It includes the above definition but there was something deeper.
I love laughter. It is good for the soul. Being a father, an uncle and now a grandfather, I’ve earnt the right to make dreadful jokes. Only today I found out that although Albert Einstein was a genius, his brother Frank was a monster. Ouch! Did any of you chuckle? Probably not. Yet laughter is not joy. At best it is a temporary relief from the pressures of life. Watching a stand-up comedian is a great and enjoyable distraction. Of course, there is also the evil laugh. Jafar, from the Disney cartoon Aladdin has the best evil laugh of all. For some reason, yet to be discovered, he has been a hero of mine ever since the film was released. I’ve mimicked the laugh many a time, especially to my squealing children who scattered in all directions.
Laughter is usually very circumstantial. Jafar was happy because he had a plan to be the most powerful person in the world (thankfully Aladdin and Jasmine thwart him, in case you wondered), yet still we wouldn’t describe him as a joyful character. I still love doing his laugh at parties.
The Mountains.
Mountains often give rise to joy. A poet wrote the line ‘let the mountains sing together for joy.’** Visitors to our area often comment how they feel joyful as they stare into a panorama of the Alps. Something deeper happens than just a resolution of problems. A silence of the soul comes that gives rise to hope. There is a contentment. You feel very small in the world and so do your problems. In that place you find the clue that there is a joy that is not dependant on circumstances. It comes from a world as it should be.
Perhaps life is run by fear or plagued by doubts? Maybe your journey has become joyless, and laughter only a temporary fix that masks pain. Sometimes regrets hide behind an obsession with work or some other distraction. Joy stealing events wear a thousand faces.
France, where we’ve made our home, is statistically, amongst the most pessimistic nations globally. (Before you smirk the UK usually languishes around the bottom as well). They vie for bottom place with other miserable places. In a pre-Covid survey (YouGov Lifestyle by Will Dahlgreen) a whacking 81% of the country predicted things would get worse and only 3% better. The others evidently didn’t dare to hope. You can feel it as you talk with people in bars or the supermarket queues (yes they still have them here!). Complaining, the sharp breath intake, moaning about the government, are as much national pastimes as the game of boules. Yet they live in one of the most beautiful, prosperous countries in the world. Interestingly our local mountain guides are often an exception to the rule.
When I ask our French why it is, they are quite open. Trust has gone. Their once unassailable place in the world for cuisine, fashion, wine, and design to mention has gone and an uncertainty in their identity has come. Their language has lost its global place with the rise of English, Chinese and Spanish as the, ironically named, lingua francas. It is no accident that they are leading the world in resisting vaccinations in the Covid crisis. They need joy. We all do.
Joy that Lasts
Lasting joy is all about perspective. It’s about knowing that there is a bigger picture and understanding your place in the world and relaxing into it. What were you put on planet earth to do.? And, for some, who put you here to do it?
Now I know that not all of you can come out to the mountains to find joy. Those who have seen the views will know what I mean about joy, but you don’t have to be in the mountains to find it. You can find it in the most difficult places in the world. My brother suffered a spinal stroke a few years back and is now permanently in a wheelchair. Worse, he was incorrectly assessed by the first paramedics who arrived on the scene and he could have been treated with no repercussions. He has every reason to be bitter but is one of the most joyful people I know.
If you know that lasting joy can’t be found in changing circumstances start looking where it can be found.
Look for a place of trust, of perspective, and your place in the world, not just within yourself but in others and the world around, and maybe the world above. Don’t settle for less.
*Oxford English Dictionary
**Psalms 98
