Empathy begins the process of connecting us with others, as we share their emotions. Our own life experience enables us to understand something of the life experience of others. That emotional understanding is the distinction we call empathy: “. . . the capacity to share the feelings of others . . .” “Empathy is a complex capability enabling individuals to…
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Value for Monday of Week 42 in the season of Assessing
Being Joyful
Joy is a powerful sense of happiness.
- Joy, bright spark of divinity, daughter of Elysium, fire-inspired we tread thy sanctuary. Thy magic power re-unites all that custom has divided, all men become brothers under the sway of thy gentle wings. [Friedrich von Schiller, “Ode to Joy“]
- One joy scatters a hundred griefs. [Chinese proverb]
- I define joy as a sustained sense of well-being and internal peace – a connection to what matters. [Oprah Winfrey]
- . . . joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. [Mother Teresa]
Joy is an important part of spirituality. “Due to the joyful disposition’s tendency to transform suffering and tragedy into meaning, and its theme of an orientation to prosocial motivations, the Joyful Life may occupy a central place in the study of resiliency and personal growth in response to personal and collective trauma such as COVID-19.”
Real
True Narratives
- Adam Potkay, The Story of Joy: From the Bible to Late Romanticism (Cambridge University Press, 2007).
- Linda Joy, A Juicy, Joyful Life: Inspiration from Women Who Have Found the Sweetness in Everyday Life (Inspired Living Publicaitons, 2010).
- Ross Gay, The Book of Delights: Essays (Algonquin Books , 2019): Gay “thought it would be nice to write about delight every day”.
Technical and Analytical Readings
- Dalai Lama & Desmond Tutu, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World (Random House, 2016).
- William B. Irvine, A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy (Oxford University Press, 2009).
- Daniel K.L. Chua, Music and Joy: Lessons on the Good Life (Yale University Press, 2024).
- Stephanie Farley, Joyful Learning: Tools to Infuse Your 6-12 Classroom with Meaning, Relevance, and Fun (Routledge, 2023).
- Michelle Hughes & Ken Badley, Joyful Resilience as Educational Practice: Transforming Teaching Challenges into Opportunities (Routledge, 2021).
- Robert Schwarz & Elaine Braff, We're No Fun Anymore: Helping Couples Create Joyful Marriages Through the Power of Play (Routledge, 2012).
- Michael Hutter, The Rise of the Joyful Economy: Artistic invention and economic growth from Brunelleschi to Murakami (Routledge, 2015).
- Susan D. Blum, Schoolishness: Alienated Education and the Quest for Authentic, Joyful Learning (Cornell University Press, 2024).
- Julia “Jules” Balén, A Queerly Joyful Noise: Choral Musicking for Social Justice (Rutgers University Press, 2017).
- Manell Baucells & Rakesh Sarin, Engineering Happiness: A New Approach for Building a Joyful Life (University of California Press, 2012).
- William Paul Simmons, Joyful Human Rights (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019).
- Jolene Brackey, Creating Moments of Joy Along the Alzheimer's Journey: A Guide for Families and Caregivers (Purdue University Press, 2016).
- Christine Carter, Raising Happiness: 10 Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents (Ballantine, 2010).
- Yongyi Mingyur Rinpoche and Eric Swanson, Joyful Wisdom: Embracing Change and Finding Freedom (Harmony, 2009).
- Yongyi Mingyur Rinpoche and Eric Swanson, The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness (Harmony, 2007).
Photographs
Documentary and Educational Films
Imaginary
Fictional Narratives
Poetry
O to make the most jubilant song! / Full of music—full of manhood, womanhood, infancy! /Full of common employments—full of grain and trees. / O for the voices of animals—O for the swiftness and balance of fishes! / O for the dropping of raindrops in a song! / O for the sunshine and motion of waves in a song!
[Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass (1891-92), Book XI, “A Song of Joys”]
The earth keeps some vibration going
There in your heart, and that is you.
And if the people find you can fiddle,
Why, fiddle you must, for all your life.
What do you see, a harvest of clover?
Or a meadow to walk through to the river?
The wind's in the corn; you rub your hands
For beeves hereafter ready for market;
Or else you hear the rustle of skirts
Like the girls when dancing at Little Grove.
To Cooney Potter a pillar of dust
Or whirling leaves meant ruinous drouth;
They looked to me like Red-Head Sammy
Stepping it off to 'Toor-a-Loor.'
How could I till my forty acres
Not to speak of getting more,
With a medley of horns, bassoons and piccolos
Stirred in my brain by crows and robins
And the creak of a wind-mill- only these?
And I never started to plow in my life
That some one did not stop in the road
And take me away to a dance or picnic.
I ended up with forty acres;
I ended up with a broken fiddle-
And a broken laugh, and a thousand memories,
And not a single regret.
[Edgar Lee Masters, “Fiddler Jones”]
Other poems:
- Edward Field, “A Journey”
- Siegfried Sassoon, “Everyone Sang”
- William Blake, “Infant Joy”
Music: Composers, artists, and major works
In the small, landlocked country of Zambia, in Southern Africa, the music expresses something more than mere happiness. Zambian music combines forward-driving rhythms and life-affirming melodies with a sense of easy peace.
- old Zambian songs;
- Zambian old school music;
- A Zambian old school compilation;
- Zambian love songs;
- Zambian love songs;
- Zambian gospel music;
- Zambian worship songs;
- Zambian music 2017;
- Zambian music 2018;
- Zambian music 2019;
- Zambian music 2020;
- Zambian music 2021;
- Zambian music 2022;
- Zambian music 2023.
From the Congo is Franklin Boukaka, with his playlists.
Rachel Magoola, Ugandan singer, albums:
- “Resilience: Songs of Uganda” (2021) (43’)
- “Eisadha” (2008) (43’)
- “Songs from the Source of the Nile” (2005) (60’)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s four flute quartets (1777-1778) (approx. 52’) (list of recorded performances):
- Flute Quartet No. 1 in D major, K 285 (approx. 13-14’) (list of recorded performances)
- Flute Quartet No. 2 in G major, K 285a (approx. 11-12’) (list of recorded performances)
- Flute Quartet No. 3 in C major, K 285b (approx. 15-20’) (list of recorded performances)
- Flute Quartet No. 4 in A major, K 298 (approx. 11-13’) (list of recorded performances)
Other compositions:
- Hugo Alfvén, Symphony No. 3 in E major, Op. 23 (1905) (approx. 35-39’) (list of recorded performances): The composer called it a hymn to joy: “It is an expression of the joy of living, an expression of the sun-lit happiness that filled my whole being”.
- Raga Bageshwari is a Hindustani classical raag for late evening. Performances are by Shivkumar Sharma, Jasraj and Ajoy Chakraborty.
- Raga Pilu (Piloo) is described in Nimbus’ The Raga Guide as an imaginative and complex raga that expresses “joy, devotion, happiness and love”; “. . . a very pleasant raga, which is mix of various emotions, hope, joy and heartbreak”. It is a Hindustani classical “a 'tune' based raag”, usually played in early afternoon, and often related to monsoon season Performances are by Nikhil Banerjee, Vilayat Khan and Ravi Shankar.
- Orlando Gibbons, Hymnes & Songs of the Church: Songs of Joy
- Jacob van Eyck, Der Fluyten Lust-hof (The Flute’s Garden of Delight) (1644-1646) (approx. 213’) (list of recorded performances): “As a practicing musician, Van Eyck is the prototype of a homo ludens, a man at play. His music, intended as carefree entertainment, was constantly subject to alteration.”
- William Wordsworth, Jubilation, A Festival for Orchestra, Op. 78 (1965) (approx. 12’)
- Sophie Dervaux & Munich Chamber Orchestra, “J.C. Bach & J.M. Haydn” (2022) (59’) consists of bassoon concerti and symphonies, conducted by the bassoonist. “What is obvious from the beginning of the recital is . . . the joy that these players derive from this music . . .”
- Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata in D Major, (Joy Stirs), BWV 36b (1735) (approx. 28-30’) (lyrics)
- David Maslanka, Symphony No. 4 (1994) (approx. 27-30’) - the composer writes: “The central driving force is the spontaneous rise of the impulse to shout for the joy of life. I feel it is the powerful voice of the Earth that comes to me from my adopted western Montana, and the high plains and mountains of central Idaho. My personal experience of the voice is one of being helpless and tom open by the power of the thing that wants to be expressed – the welling-up shout that cannot be denied.”
Gospel groups and singers generally hold nothing back in expressing their joy. It is an integral part of their offering.
- American gospel music
- Reggae gospel music
- Haitian gospel music
- Jamaican gospel music
- Old country gospel songs
Iconic American gospel artists:
- The Soul Stirrers
- The Dixie Hummingbirds (live)
- Claude Jeter and the Swan Silvertones
- Golden Gate Quartet
- James Cleveland
Albums:
- Josh Levinson Septet, “Morning Joy” (2018) (78’): “No crowded studio or stage here; seven instrumentalists but they blend like a summer drink, with lots of space and air for everybody.”
- Tobias Wiklund, “Where the Spirits Eat” (2019) (56’): “Those saying that the young generation of jazz players have forgotten the past should listen to Where the Spirits Eat. Wiklund drinks deep from the well of tradition, but he isn't a traditionalist. His sound is contemporary and happening right now.”
- Jim Snidero & Jeremy Pelt, “Jubilation! Celebrating Cannonball Adderley” (2018) (53’) is “a colorful celebration that salutes the eminence and artistry of its honoree and retraces his brilliance without mimicry.”
- Lauren Sevian, “Bliss” (2019) (55’): “. . . Sevian has assembled a notable cast for nine of her original compositions, and one from alto saxophonist Alexa Tarantino.”
- Yoko Miwa Trio, “Songs of Joy” (2021) (71’) is “a welcome dose of optimism and uplift that shines like a ray of hope through the dark clouds overhead.”
- Ernesto Cervini, “Joy” (2022) (57’): “The Juno-winning musician was inspired by Louise Penny’s award-winning series of mystery novels and was moved to make music that captures the characters, settings and relationships contained in the books. ‘I completely fell in love,’ Cervini says. ‘I was captured by the storytelling and the incredible characters. Although they are detective novels, the books are filled with kindness and joy, and I was inspired to write music that reflects the themes and characters in the books.'”
- Laura Jurd, “The Big Friendly Album” (2022) (41’), “is a big hearted, gorgeously lyrical, feel-good romp, which does not preclude cerebral engagement but which wears its complexities so lightly that one barely notices them.”
- Grupo Lokito, “Bomoko” (2022) (36’) is an album of joy and energy from a Congolese group with Cuban influences.
- Aaron Lehrian, “A Joyous Opus” (2023) (50’): “I endeavored to establish my unique artistic voice, collaborating with the exceptionally talented drummer Stefan Klein and the melodically gifted bassist Stan Piper. This album debuts my ability to seamlessly blend classical and world music with the boundless creativity of jazz. It is a deeply personal project, drawing inspiration from the many joys and struggles I have faced throughout my life . . .” [Lehrian]
- Les Mamans du Congo x Rrobin, “Ya Mizolé” (2023) (36’) is “a motherlode of joy”.
- Guro Kvifte Nesheim & Floating Sofa Quartet, “Kystnært” (2024) (45’) “highlights the connections between the music from the southern coast of Norway with other regional cultures, and Nesheim looked to master fiddler Ågon Egeland to help her research.”
Music: songs and other short pieces
- Loggins & Messina, “Vahevala” (lyrics)
- Katrina and The Waves, "Walking on Sunshine" (lyrics)
- Stevie Wonder, "Isn't She Lovely" (lyrics)
- Franz Schubert (composer), “An die Freude” (Ode to Joy), D. 189 (1815) (lyrics)
- Lynne Arriale Trio, “Joy”
Visual Arts
- Wassily Kandinsky, Structure Joyeuse (Merry Structure) (1926)
- Vasily Perov, Joyful Father (1874)
- Honore Daumier, Joyful Song Performed by M. Cobden
Film and Stage
- The Sound of Music: Maria’s “problem” was her gift to a family
