Joy is resistance. Practice it daily.
Every moment we give in to joy and awe is a moment that we are completely insulated from the influence of fear, hate, and division.
This week I’ve been tuning into the Dalai Lama’s Global Vision Summit, listening to some of the lectures of practitioners of peace, compassion, understanding, and goodness. I pause to notice the absolute privilege of having the time and technology to be part of this event. What a lucky, lucky person I am.
Most of my thoughts this week are prompted by a beautiful, challenging talk given by Pamela Ayo Yetunde, ThD, a pastor, author, and educator, learned in Buddhist and Christian practices, and focused on the intersection of social justice and compassion. Dr. Ayo Yetunde spoke of the growing threat of authoritarianism and fascism here and abroad, and the need of diligence on the part of those who are called to resist.
Her talk reminds us that a totalitarian world view has no space for joy. It is too deeply threatened by the shared human experience of joy, and the awe upon which human joy is founded.
When we tune into our experience of awe, we connect with two essential qualities of the human experience: our smallness, and our interconnection. The deep knowledge that we are nodes in a web of existence leads us, insistently, to humility and compassion. Being a part of the world and all its creatures demands an ethic of care.
Authoritarianism cannot tolerate this knowledge, humility, compassion, and care. Instead, it must convince us to substitute superficial material pleasure related to ownership, for real, deep, thrumming joy.
The joy that awe engenders fills the spaces within us that otherwise would drive us to purchase more stuff; that otherwise would drive us to compete with our fellow humans for access to that stuff; and that otherwise drive us to seek “strong leaders” to save us from our emptiness.
Every moment we give in to joy and awe is a moment that we are completely insulated from the influence of fear, hate, and division. We are insulated from the influence of those who would control us, and profit from our fear.
And so, every moment of joy is a profoundly radical act of resistance. As radical as the first shoots of spring growth pushing their way through the soil to greet the warmth of spring.
Be radical, resist daily, take care of yourself and our beautiful planet earth.
Thank you for your company on this path.