How Do You Live In Joy?

A Challenge taken up

I’m not sure if Trista Ainsworth meant it as a challenge when she wrote that question at the end of her wonderful article

On Day 1 Trista talked about the wildlife she saw around her home. I had to write a response and tell her that I could add 4 does and a rabbit to our list of animals.

I could also add a crow that came to our birdbath to wash it’s dinner the other day. Such fun to watch him dip whatever he’d found in the birdbath, then hold it with his claws and peck at it.

Seeing wildlife is definitely something that brings joy to my heart.

Just being out in nature is a joy. So, I try to go for a long walk every afternoon. We are fortunate to live in a wooded area on the outskirts of a large mid-western city. A short twenty-minute walk takes me to the shores of beautiful White Bear Lake. There I sit on a bench and enjoy watching the boaters, water skiers and sometimes wind surfers. I may see a kayak canoe paddle by. I wave and they wave back.

How do I live in Joy?

As my parents taught: begin on the right foot.

I start each day with some Quiet Time (“Q.T.” I call it). During that time I read from some spiritual books and the Bible. I also pray and journal. In my journal, I reflect on what I did yesterday and what I plan to do today. I enjoy looking back over past entries and seeing where I’ve been, what I’ve done, what I’ve thought, and how things have worked out.

Today, being Sunday, we (my wife and I) started the day with “PC-church.” Our church now live streams Sunday morning services online. We love it. The staff takes hymns recorded from services last year and the year before and splices in a new sermon and liturgy. We enjoy not having to dress up, but we miss talking to friends face-to-face after the service. You can chat with people in the sidebar, but it is hard. It reminds me of the old-fashioned chat rooms which didn’t have a thread feature. Everyone’s comments get interspersed and it’s hard to have a conversation. Besides, everyone can see what each person writes, so the sharing is pretty shallow. Still, PC-church is the next best thing to being there.

During lockdown, I’ve also been blessed with opportunities to meet with friends via Zoom. We even have an online Bible study once a week. For the study, five men who’ve been meeting together at a local restaurant for over 30 years get together online. One of them learned how to set up Zoom meetings, so we can meet and see and talk to each other. It is almost as good as meeting in person. We do miss our waitress Justine, though, and having breakfast together.

Thankfully, my wife and I live in a house that provides room for both of us to do our own thing. She sews, paints, does charcoal sketches and makes cards. I spend most of my time on Facebook and Medium. We get together for meals and other activities.

We both enjoy the card game Uno. It requires a little skill and lots of luck. We play several games each evening. Such times are joy-filled for us.

Discovering Medium/Illumination has brought great joy to my life. It gives me an outlet for my writing. I can imagine my Facebook friends rejoicing that I now have another platform to express myself on. I’ve met many kindred spirits here: people who love to read and write. I’m grateful to my friend Rasheed Hooda for introducing me to Medium and Illumination. Thank you, Rasheed!

I love reading the articles others post. Having the ability to not only read but comment on what others write adds a whole new dimension of enjoyment for me. I love making contact with the author of a piece I’ve enjoyed. And, when someone reads and comments on or highlights something I’ve written, I make every effort to get back to them.

We live simple lives, my wife and I. We don’t need much to keep us entertained. With the warmer weather we’ll spend more time outdoors. I’m hoping to get a space on the kayak racks by the lake so I can go kayaking in the afternoon. If I don’t have to load my kayak on the truck and haul it down to the lake every time, it will be much easier to go for an hour or two.

This week I’ll get my bike out and go for a ride. We have a nice trail, the Gateway, just a couple of miles from our house that follows an old railway line through the woods and farm fields for about 10 miles to a small park. In the past, I’ve ridden there and back several times a week. I’m not sure I can make it that far this year. Age is creeping up on me, but once I get in better shape, I’ll give it a try. I can always go part way and turn back.

Someone asked me once if I ever got bored. I just looked at them. Bored? No, never! I can always find something to do. I’ve got a stack of books by my reading chair and another stack on the nightstand by my bed — plenty to keep me happily entertained for many hours.

I’ve plenty to do. And, I can honestly say, there’s never a dull moment in my life.

So, how do you live in joy?