Delight!
The American poet, Ross Gay, spent a year writing an essay each day about the joys and delights he discovered. The essays capture the small joys of everyday life, and often place those joys in the context of the larger world, not discounting the realities of our existence, but underscoring a point we often discover in meditation - that there is space for all of it, the delightful and the disturbing.
I was reminded of Ross’s work when listening to Catherine Price on the Ten Percent Happier podcast. I mention this not only to give credit where credit is due (with much gratitude), but also because we live in a world where fear mongering gets a lot of airplay, and it’s wonderful to sit back and see how many positive sources of inspiration are out there: Ross Gay, Catherine Price, Ten Percent Happier, in this example alone!
Catherine Price was describing how people she knows now put a finger up in the air when they experience something delightful and exclaim, “Delight!”, and others text each other photos of something they’ve found delightful with the caption “Delight!”
Ross told Krista Tippett (another amazing positive resource, see her March 26, 2020 interview with Ross Gay for her On Being podcast), “What surprised me the most was that the study of delight made delight more evident” and that “the moment of joy is the moment when my alienation from other people goes away and everything becomes luminous.”
It should be noted that Ross Gay is Black, and the essays about what delights him don’t shy away from talking about the issues that challenge Black people in our culture, and yet…. And yet there is delight, and it’s not frivolous, it is essential.
At the same time that I was mulling over Gay’s work, Peggy Lee’s 1960’s classic “Is That All There Is?” came on the radio (“Delight!”). It’s a song about disillusionment, but if one listens carefully, it really sounds like an exhortation to see all the small joys in every day existence. It really sounds like she’s trying to tell us, "Yes, this is all there is, and it is enough” or, to use Gay’s words, “It is delightful.”
One of our key practices at CMP involves resting in recognition of the goodness in our lives. We generally refer to this practice as Gratitude Practice, because we allow for an upwelling of gratitude within us. It’s based on scientific findings of many people, including Dr. Rick Hanson’s, Hardwiring Happiness (look- another positive resource! “Delight!").
Reframing the practice as one of “Delight” can add a touch of lightness, removing the “should” factor (as in, “I should feel grateful for all I have.”)
This week we welcome emails with the subject line “Delight!” if there is something that you would like to let us know has delighted you. And we would be delighted if you would join us on any of our nine live meditations.
May all beings without exception find delight in life’s little moments.
Warmly
Your CMP family
Resources Mentioned: What are some resources that support your well-being? We'd love to know!
Ross Gay's Book of Delights
Catherine Price, see her website ScreenLifeBalance.com and consider joining her #FunSquad
Ten Percent Happier podcast with Dan Harris (the book Ten Percent Happier is one of the most entertaining and insightful books about meditation that we've come across.)
Krista Tippett's On Being podcast has extensive interviews with many of the brightest spiritual lights
Rick Hanson's Hardwiring Happiness gives clear, science-based recommendations for unlocking happiness
