Joy...A Deeper Experience Than Happiness

Ask most people what they want from life and you will usually get the same answer, “I just want to be happy.” There is a common belief that happiness is something that can not only be achieved, but held on to as well. That goal remains elusive…“the happiness that lasts” is never found because life is forever changing.

It is far better to seek joy. Joy is related to happiness, but it is a deeper experience. In the search for happiness, the individual focuses upon himself/herself. However, joy moves a person out of self-centered preoccupation and provides an orientation towards others. Joy is an experience which connects us to that which is “Greater” than we are. It connects us to the creative power that is more than the “I” or ego. Joy gets us out of ourselves and in contact with this “Other” and with others. Joy can sustain us through all phases of life. If we are willing to give up the search for happiness, we may actually find joy. It exists near the point where happiness and suffering intermingle.

To make such a move requires faith. Faith comes from the action of moving towards a centered life. We must act first, finding hope in the midst of loss, thus giving birth to faith. This is a move that engages rather than avoids suffering. The creative power at the center of life brings into being faith and joy. They exist in the context of love. To love is to respect and value ourselves while breaking out of limited self-interest and reaching out to others. It is love, joy and faith that give meaning to life and they arise from being centered.

 

Crabs in the Bucket

Growing up in Southeast Louisiana, I had the luxury of experiencing Sportsman’s Paradise to the fullest. As a child, I’d spend endless summer hours with my father boating, fishing and crabbing. Having an inquisitive mind, I’d often sit and watch the crabs in the bucket after daddy removed them from the traps.

What I found to be the most interesting was the behavior of the crabs in the bucket, as one would climb and rise above the rest, the others would grab the hind legs of the climbing crab, pulling it back into the bucket. “No need for a lid,” he’d say, “because no crab will allow another crab to move up and get out.”

I questioned that behavior and thought, “Can't they lend a helping pincer, form a chain, climb up and pull the entire group out of the bucket? Why can’t they do like ants and work as a team?” Instead of thinking about dinner, at 10-years-old, my fascination with behavior began.

Although crab behavior should not be analogous to human behavior, I can think of many instances where it is. Just show a little ambition to escape the confines of your situation in the workplace and your management and co-workers will swoop in to give you that extra boost of support you need to make it to the next level. Right? I don’t think so. Far too often the ambitious are kept in their place and the mediocre dictate how it’s going to be for everyone, pulling you back into the crabby abyss.

I escaped the abyss by being kicked out of the bucket. Having an ambitious soul, I’ve moved on to better things. When asked recently, “How did you land that gig?” I smiled and thought to myself, “I expostulate crabs in the bucket behavior and embrace the social networking of the ant … for the greater good of all.”

This week’s blog is dedicated to my mentors, thank you for the amaranthine encouragement, overlooking our temperamental differences.

Until next week...peace and blessings to all.

A Friend, a Film and an Enlightening Experience

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to assist my dear friend, Denise Blake, with one of her outreach projects, Bring Your “A” Game, a screening and town hall meeting, presented by Twenty-First Century Foundation in partnership with The Morehouse Male Initiative. It was a new experience for me, as it was my first time on Morehouse’s campus. In fact, it was my first time on any HBCU campus.

Bring You’re "A" Game is a twenty-two minute documentary film targeted to urban youth – young men and boys – who are most often victims of poverty and lack strong male role models in their lives. Mario Van Peebles is featured in the film and interviewees include Chris Rock, Spike Lee, Dr. Cornel West, Ice Cube, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Harper Hill, to name a few. Using computer generated imaging and eye-opening statistics, the film encourages urban youth to finish high school and get a college degree.

It was mind-boggling to learn that inner-city third grade test scores are often used to determine how many young men will go to prison. Even more astonishing, I learned that most prisons are privately owned goldmines. It really made me think about America’s education system in a new light, seriously questioning its integrity.

Yes, many men in prisons do deserve to be there, but I wonder how many, if they had been given the opportunities I had, would actually be there today? Since we are on the topic, and the film did not mention it, according to research released on Monday, March 2, by the Pew Research Center in Washington, DC, one out of every 55 Louisiana adults is behind bars, a higher incarceration rate than any other state. Being from New Orleans that really hits home.

Denise and The Atlanta community engagement team did an excellent job promoting Bring Your “A” Game. The response was overwhelming, as people arrived almost an hour early and a second screening had to be scheduled. Once the initial screening session began, it was announced that Mario Van Peebles was in attendance and would conduct a Q&A after the panel discussion.

Bring Your “A” Game will air exclusively on BET later this spring. Even though the target audience is urban youth, I suggest you watch the documentary…you’ll learn a thing or two just as I did.