The conversation with luminaries were all a perfect set up for the masterfully inserted punch of the Jacob Collier video. I was eating lunch while reading, and then watching the video, and what's really hard is crying and eating lunch at the same time. You should know that your whole creative expression here with its ingenuity and parts left me riding a true wave of the very feeling in question. Joy. Joy through the words, the music, my lunch, and the hot and salty tears.
So many great thoughts. First of all, I think the desire to seek and understand joy can't be taken for granted. A lot of people in this world seem to think it's either futile, childish, or relatively unimportant. So the sheer fact you have the hope and the longing for joy and the curiosity to understand it better is a great starting point.
I agree with Burkeman that being able to experience joy means being vulnerable. Of course, this leads to a fascinating debate about how much vulnerability is tied to attachment, and whether attachment is always a bad thing (I'm thinking now of ancient traditions like Stoicism and Buddhism). Ultimately, I think that when we realize that we're vulnerable (instead of taking the good things in our lives for granted) it allows us to love them and savor them all the more. The innocence of youth may still be gone, but in its place we feel a sense of abundance and gratitude that we maybe weren't able as carefree children.
You are invited to my tea parties any time, Brenna!
I love how you conclude your wonderful and thoughtful reflection (thank you so much!):
"The innocence of youth may still be gone, but in its place we feel a sense of abundance and gratitude that we maybe weren't able as carefree children."
Yes! There’s a savoring that emerges from our vulnerability and growing awareness of inevitable loss.
I loved spending this little moment of joy in your beautiful imagination with these luminary thinkers! The need to surrender to the moment and let go of our desire to control in order to fully experience the world is something I continually wrestle with. But those moments of joy are always so worth it. Thank you for sharing this, including the video ◡̈
I‘m glad you liked the video (too), and I hope to see him perform live one day. And it’s an ongoing practice for many of us. Thank you for coming to my little tea party, Rachel;)
The conversation with luminaries were all a perfect set up for the masterfully inserted punch of the Jacob Collier video. I was eating lunch while reading, and then watching the video, and what's really hard is crying and eating lunch at the same time. You should know that your whole creative expression here with its ingenuity and parts left me riding a true wave of the very feeling in question. Joy. Joy through the words, the music, my lunch, and the hot and salty tears.
What more can I hope for than creating a shared emotional experience of joy (thank you Jacob Collier!) through my text and storytelling!?!
I like your version of Kahneman better than the real thing 😀
😅
I would have loved to join such a tea party!
So many great thoughts. First of all, I think the desire to seek and understand joy can't be taken for granted. A lot of people in this world seem to think it's either futile, childish, or relatively unimportant. So the sheer fact you have the hope and the longing for joy and the curiosity to understand it better is a great starting point.
I agree with Burkeman that being able to experience joy means being vulnerable. Of course, this leads to a fascinating debate about how much vulnerability is tied to attachment, and whether attachment is always a bad thing (I'm thinking now of ancient traditions like Stoicism and Buddhism). Ultimately, I think that when we realize that we're vulnerable (instead of taking the good things in our lives for granted) it allows us to love them and savor them all the more. The innocence of youth may still be gone, but in its place we feel a sense of abundance and gratitude that we maybe weren't able as carefree children.
You are invited to my tea parties any time, Brenna!
I love how you conclude your wonderful and thoughtful reflection (thank you so much!):
"The innocence of youth may still be gone, but in its place we feel a sense of abundance and gratitude that we maybe weren't able as carefree children."
Yes! There’s a savoring that emerges from our vulnerability and growing awareness of inevitable loss.
I loved spending this little moment of joy in your beautiful imagination with these luminary thinkers! The need to surrender to the moment and let go of our desire to control in order to fully experience the world is something I continually wrestle with. But those moments of joy are always so worth it. Thank you for sharing this, including the video ◡̈
I‘m glad you liked the video (too), and I hope to see him perform live one day. And it’s an ongoing practice for many of us. Thank you for coming to my little tea party, Rachel;)
Yes I agree! I saw that he’s coming to Boston in May 👀
👀
I absolutely love the imagined dialogue format! Also, the idea that joy asks for courage, especially in its impermanence, feels deeply true.
Thank you so much, Gabriela. I‘m glad both format and content resonated with you.
Brigitte - such an exquisite conversation and extraordinary writing. 👏
This: “But joy needs space to naturally expand instead of a controlling expectation of perfection. Where we let go and allow ourselves to simply be.”
I one heard, or read, I can’t recall where, that “Joy is happiness not attached to an outcome.”
I thought of that when you wrote - just allowing ourselves to be. Free of perceptions, judgments, expectations, etc.
Just being with what is.
Thank you for helping me see this anew. ❤️🙏
Thank you James. I like this definition, and thank you for taking the time to read this and share your resonance with me! 🖤