Rational Exuberance

Who or what truly, deeply, makes you laugh?

Rational Exuberance

In the Jewish tradition, there is a teaching that on judgment day, each person will be asked why she did not enjoy life’s pleasures more.

Kay Redfield Jamison warns, “Exuberance and joy are fragile matters. Bubbles burst; a wince of disapproval can cut dead a whistle or abort a cartwheel.” Let us resolve not to wince at exuberance, not to cast disapproval at those who are harmlessly cavorting and rejoicing. Let’s practice exuberance, and support it wherever we may find it.

Sisters and brothers, I believe that God loves you very much. I believe that you have within you a beautiful wild woman or man who wants to embrace life in all its fullness. I believe that that desire to embrace life is a divine gift. That longing to connect, that longing to give your gifts to a hurting world, that longing to kick up your heels and laugh till you cry, or even infect your whole village with laughter—give in to it.

BY AMANDA L. AIKMAN, CONSULTING MINISTER, SKAGIT UU FELLOWSHIP, MOUNT VERNON, WASHINGTON, AND SOUTH FRASER UNITARIAN CONGREGATION, SURREY, BRITISH COLUMBIA TO READ MORE

A Prayer for Difficult Conversations

 

Joy is not the result of getting what you want; it is the way to get what you want. In the deepest sense, joy is what you want.
–Alan Cohen

A Prayer for Difficult Conversations

May our shared values be our compass,
Helping us to remember why we are on this spinning planet,
Helping us to navigate here in this dense thicket.
I know we are both struggling, so may we have compassion for one another.

May our shared memories be our sustenance,
Nurturing us along as we are weary and wary on this rocky road,
Providing strength to go on.
I know we are kindred, so may we overcome this obstacle to kinship.

May our shared commitments point to our destination,
Imagining a place big enough to hold us all,
Desiring to live where love casts out fear.
I know we both want to be there, so may we touch it now.

May every word I speak be filtered through my heart.
May every word I hear be filtered through my heart.
May my inner judge sit this one out.
May I breathe into lovingkindness, for myself and for you.

And may I accept that we will both do this imperfectly.

BY REV. MEG RILEY, SENIOR MINISTER, CHURCH OF THE LARGER FELLOWSHIP, TO READ MORE

Meditations in Joy

Inspiration:

How will you find joy today in work well done?

Meditations in Joy

Find something that gives you pleasure—a favorite piece of music, or a cupcake, or a dip in the pool on a hot day or a walk in the woods (with a dog!) or whatever you like. Just choose something, and be in that joyful experience with your whole body. Pay attention to your skin, your tongue, the palms of your hands. Notice the pace of your heart or the tingling in your toes. Every time something tries to pull you away from your joy, brush it off, and come back to the pleasure of the moment.

BY REV. DR. LYNN UNGAR, MINISTER FOR LIFESPAN LEARNING, CHURCH OF THE LARGER FELLOWSHIP 

Puppy

Inspiration: 

In times of joy, all of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag.
–W. H. Auden

Puppy

What would it be like
to live this way –
with such an active innocence,
so thoroughly wrapped-round with hope?
Even children lose the ability
to dance with such playful purpose
as these scuffling paws.

On good days I imagine
that God loves like this,
each encounter an uncontainable
wrenching of joy. Such an act
defies responsibility and taste.
It makes a mockery
of newspapers and calendars,
declares bills and paychecks equal
in their delightful ripping
and flat taste against the tongue.

For just a moment, stand still:
eyes wide, ears forward, nose
to the wind. Know that
dinner is provided, and a kind hand
moving toward your neck.
There. Now. Can’t you feel it?
That stray breeze started
as your tail began to wag.

BY REV. DR. LYNN UNGAR, MINISTER FOR LIFESPAN LEARNING, CHURCH OF THE LARGER FELLOWSHIP