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Hints of Gladness
May 18, 2022
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
~ Mary Oliver ~
For 30 days (or more) I’m going to post and talk about the things that give me joy. I'm going to do my best to record hints of gladness especially when I go for my daily walks.
To sustain this, and what will hopefully become a habit, I have to keep it as simple as possible, so I’m not going to write or do anything too elaborate other than to briefly comment on what's making me glad and have a picture or two to go along with it.
Take good care,
~ Rod
P.S. If you'd like to join me, let me know. I would love to have
some fellow travellers who are taking note of their hints of
gladness. Email rod@hintsofgladness.com
_ _ _
5.18.22
It’s raining, my ears are really ringing, and my head is buzzing.
I haven’t quite hit the gladness zone yet!
That said, I can still feel and sense joy beneath the surface
just being outside. The rain has its own beauty and so does
the wind. The trees are moving with the wind. I can hear a Robin
chirping in the underbrush. I just need to open my senses!
The robin is in there somewhere…
Safety and rest are essential for healing. Leah Pells - Counsellor.
Hint and a surprise. Watch...
Hint… A chat with an older gentleman who regularly walks this trail about the rain. I teased him about his large umbrella and he said “well I gotta keep my feet dry.“ 😊
I say “good morning“ to a woman who regularly jogs on this trail with a bear bell. I’m sure she must’ve had a scary run in with a bear at one point. I saw four bears on this trail last year. None so far this year. They must be staying out of the rain 🌧😊
“Am I here?“
The love tree (below).
I wonder who the carver loved,
and if they still love them,
and if the one they loved,
loved them back?
I love Kathleen 😍
I read somewhere that it’s good to commit to a prayer place and a space. This has been my place lately…
Hints…
Birdsong. Always birdsong.
Thought from the trail. Why ruin a good moment of presence with thoughts, striving, or technique? 😌
Random: I just did a George Costanza Frogger road crossing 😊
The sun came out a little!
Gotta catch it while I can!
(above). I almost missed it.
These guys (below) unknowingly
(until I know it) represent
my ego energy - security,
esteem, control, and resistance to
change, and want to keep me
from entering the Matrix of living
consciously, lovingly, and aware.
They are the sworn enemies
of joy and worthiness…
Major hint… A rich and meaningful morning with some of my close contemplative friends. My higher power is up to
something. "Love mischief.” I want to embrace it and keep on embracing it and not turn back. I wept in release at the end of the call. Grace upon grace. A deep well of unconditional love 💕
I just want to say that there are people who are willing to be tender, vulnerable, kind and to open themselves up to the love and the leading of the divine. This inspires me to do the same and gives me hope for the world. It might seem like it at times, but the divine flame never goes out and never will. It’s always burning somewhere and in someone. When you sense it, get right up next to it and allow it to grace you with it’s warmth. It’ll change you, at least temporarily, and is deepened and spreads when you are willing to be kind to yourself and others. I experienced that flame as tenderness today. The divine flame is selfless and comes disguised as kindness, gentleness, and going the extra mile.
Hint…
What a joy it is to spread joy. We can simply tell
people what makes us happy about them or the
situations that we are in. I know that’s not always
going to be the case, but why not participate in some
“love mischief“ and have fun with it.
The Seed Cracked Open
It used to be
That when I would wake in the morning
I could with confidence say,
“What am ‘I’ going to
Do?”
That was before the seed
Cracked open.
Now Hafiz is certain:
There are two of us housed
In this body,
Doing the shopping together in the market and
Tickling each other
While fixing the evening’s food.
Now when I awake
All the internal instruments play the same music:
“God, what love-mischief can ‘We’ do
For the world
Today?”
~ Hafiz, Translated by Daniel Ladinsky and made famous
by my friend Esther Hizsa 😄
Questions (rant) about joy…
If joy is who we are, as I have heard some people say...
why is joy so difficult to access especially on a
consistent basis. Why does my down and depressed
self seem to be more predominant?
I can say with some assuredness that doing this Hints
of Gladness experiment is increasing my level of joy on
a more consistent basis. It's showing me that Hints of
Joy are accessible when I am intentionally open to it.
Maybe…
Maybe, as Anthony DeMello says, we aren’t happy because
we are looking to our external attachments to make us happy.
Maybe, as Brené Brown says, joy is the most vulnerable emotion,
and difficult to tolerate.
Quote...
"Joy is the most vulnerable emotion we experience," Brown says.
"And if you cannot tolerate joy, what you do is you start dress
rehearsing tragedy."
~ Brene Brown, Huffpost
Maybe, as I was told today, its ego that gets in the way of joy.
Maybe, it’s better to just be "surprised by joy" as CS Lewis said.
Maybe joy is just a fruit of our connection to love.
_ _ _
A little windy 🌬 Kind of fun 🤩
After dictating the rant above about "where is joy?"
I am reminded to “look within" and I’m also reminded
of the Meister Eckhart quote that encourages his listeners
to practice “detachment, detachment, detachment.“
Take good care,
~ Rod
