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Love & Joy
Rod MacIver writes of Love and Joy in his online e-newsletter, A Pause for Beauty
Date: 5/12/2009 6:06:59 PM ( 15 y ) ... viewed 2423 times I suspect that the morose and fearful are doomed to
quick extinction. Where there is no joy there can be no
courage; and without courage all other virtues are useless.
- Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire
I was sitting beside a tiny little brook deep in the woods a couple of days ago. Birdsong filtered through the sound of trickling water and sunlight shone down through the trees. I began thinking about the subject of joy.
Without joy, what would remain in the lives of the birds and animals in these woods? Life is often hard here. Not today. Today, the woods ring with song and the sun is shining, but there are days when the weather presents severe challenges to those who live here. Even now though, the residents of these woods must be alert for predators, and the predators face their own food concerns.
The will to survive must be linked somehow to a sense of joy. I know that many biologists believe that animals do not feel joy, but I think they do. I’ve watched a hawk soar for hours in the thermals. In one of Doug Peacock’s bear films a grizzly grabs a chunk of ice, holds it over its head and then plays with it like a toy. Play is a major part of my black lab’s life. He wags his trail and trots along with a ball in his mouth glancing at me over his shoulder, daring me to try to get it. He smiles at me. Why should his wolf ancestors be so different? In fact, I’ve seen film of wolves wagging their tails and howling with joy when reuniting with the rest of their pack.
I once interviewed a biologist who had, for years, studied the mating habits of red-winged blackbirds. During the course of the conversation, he said to me, “Humans who don’t enjoy sex are kind of a self-defeating genetic thread. They self-extinguish. It is reasonable to conclude that humans living today are the offspring of humans who enjoyed sex. Birds are somewhat similar.”
The same probably applies to joy. It is quite possible that animals without the capacity for joy lack the persistence required to survive famines, early spring snowstorms and disease. Without joy, they may not be able to put the required energy into evading predators or catching prey. I remember an expert in sharp-shinned hawks once telling me that if hawk doesn’t catch a meal every two or three days, it will stop preening and grooming itself and suffer from a potentially deadly infestation of lice. Does this mean that rather than starvation, it dies of demoralization and hopelessness?
My experience with cancer followed a period of joylessness and desperation; my recovery from it was preceded by changes that added joy to my life. I’m not suggesting that all cancers are caused by a lack of joy, but I do believe that demoralization plays a role in disease.
With humans, perhaps touch, love and the admiration and respect of our fellow creatures play a large role. Love and joy help give us not only the will to persist through adversity, but also to blossom, to find meaning in life and develop our potential as human beings.
I wrote in my journal when I returned from the woods:
What do you love about life? Serve that.
What fills you with joy? Serve that.
There isn’t enough love and joy
in the world, but those are the
spiritual and soul forces that nurture life.
In celebration of the Great Dance of Life,
Roderick W. MacIver
from "A Pause for Beauty"
About Heron Dance: http://www.herondance.org/category.aspx?Category_ID=2&
Heron Dance explores the beauty and mystery of the natural world with art and words. Heron Dance began in 1995 as a simple little newsletter with big heart and love for life. Over the years it has evolved into a full color journal published twice a year. In 2003 we added our weekly e-newsletter A Pause for Beauty.
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