Pillars of Joy

THE SCENE: Flake Gloom at it’s finest
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER done
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH, this and that, cherry pickers, rockettes, imperial walkers
THA-THANG:
Insert information about the workout.

• 8 Rounds Dora – One HIM runs while the other HIM:  squats, calf raises, merkins, spider mans, LBCs, hello dolly, plank jacks, SSH
  
• Laps – Four Corners – Lap One 8 squat 8 calf raise per spot, Lap Two 8 merkins 8 spider mans per spot, Lap Three 8 LBCs 8 hello dolly per spot, Lap Four 8 plank jacks 8 SSH per spot

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
In my last Q – I spoke about “The Book of Joy” and the Obstacles to Joy:  fear, stress, anxiety, frustration, anger, loneliness, envy, suffering & adversity.  Tonight, I’ll touch on the second part of the book, which is the “Eight Pillars of Joy”.

1. Perspective

We suffer from perspective myopia. We are nearsighted and unable to see our experience in a larger way.  With a wider perspective, we can see our situation and all those involved in a larger context. By seeing the many conditions and circumstances that have led to our situation, we can recognize that our perspective is not the whole truth.

This wider perspective also leads us beyond our own self-regard. Self-centeredness is our default perspective, and it comes from the fact that we are at the center of our world.  But, when we take the perspective of others, we can recognize that we do not control all aspects of any situation.

2. Humility

Our vulnerabilities, frailties, and limitations are a reminder that we need one another. We are not created for independence or self-sufficiency, but for interdependence and mutual support.

None of us are immune to the traits of pride and ego, but arrogance comes from insecurity. Needing to feel that we are bigger than others comes from a nagging fear that we are smaller.

3. Humor

Ultimately, I think it’s about being able to laugh at yourself and being able to not to take yourself so seriously.

There are people who think they must be somber because it gives them gravitas, and they feel they are more likely to be respected if they are serious. But I believe that one of the ways into people’s hearts is the capacity to make them laugh. If you can laugh at yourself, then everyone knows you’re not pompous.

If you start looking for the humor in life, you will find it. You will stop asking, “Why me?” and start recognizing that life happens to all of us.

4. Acceptance

Once we can see life with a wider perspective, we can see our role with humility, and can laugh at ourselves, we get to the final quality of mind, which is the ability to accept our life in all its pain, imperfection, and beauty.

We cannot succeed by denying what exists. The acceptance of reality is the only place from which change can begin.  Acceptance allows us to move into the fullness of joy. It allows us to engage with life on its own terms rather than rail against the fact that life is not as we would wish.

5. Forgiveness

Forgiveness does not mean you forget what someone has done, contrary to the saying “forgive and forget.” Not reacting with negativity, or giving in to the negative emotions, does not mean you do not respond to the acts, or that you just allow yourself to be harmed again. Forgiveness does not mean you do not seek justice.

Where a wrong action is concerned, it may be necessary to take appropriate response, but you can choose not to develop anger or hatred. This is the power of forgiveness – in not losing sight of the humanity of the person while responding to the wrong with clarity and firmness.

6. Gratitude

Gratitude allows us to shift our perspective toward all we have been given and all that we have. It moves us away from the narrow-minded focus on fault and lack and to the wider perspective of benefit and abundance. It is not happiness that makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy.

When you are grateful, you act out of a sense of enough and not out of a sense of scarcity, and you are willing to share. If you are grateful, you are enjoying the differences between people and respectful to all people.

Impermanence is the nature of life. All things are slipping away, and there is a real danger of wasting our precious human life. Gratitude helps us catalog, celebrate, and rejoice in each day and each moment before they slip through the vanishing hourglass of experience.

7. Compassion

Compassion is a sense of concern that arises when we are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to see that suffering relieved. It connects the feeling of empathy to acts of kindness and generosity.  We are most joyful when we focus on others, and not on ourselves. Bringing joy to others is the fastest way to experience joy oneself.

One difference between empathy and compassion is that empathy is experiencing another’s emotion, whereas compassion is a more empowered state where we want what is best for the other person. If we see a person who is being crushed by a rock, the goal is not to get under the rock and feel what they are feeling; it is to help remove the rock.

8. Generosity

It seems that money can buy happiness, if we spend it on other people. People experience greater happiness when they spend money on others compared to when they spend it on themselves.

There are ways to give beyond our money. There are three kinds of generosity: material giving, giving freedom from fear, and spiritual giving.  Start giving from where you are and realize that you are not meant to resolve all problems on your own. But do what you can.

When we practice a generosity of spirit, we are practicing all the pillars of joy. In generosity, there is a wider perspective in which we see our connection to all others. There is a humility that recognizes our place in the world and acknowledges that at another time we could be the one in need. There is a sense of humor and an ability to laugh at ourselves so that we do not take ourselves too seriously. There is an acceptance of life, in which we do not force life to be other than what it is. There is a forgiveness of others and a release of what might otherwise have been. There is a gratitude for all that we have been given. And, we are able to see others with a deep compassion and a desire to help those who are in need.