Joy

Observing joy is feeling it. Whether it’s a child bouncing beside a parent or the clumsy cuteness of a puppy, we smile at the full saturation of aliveness, feel the lift in our own bodies.

Watching Lamar Jackson’s pure joy playing football is as exhilarating as watching great tennis. It’s hard not to be infected by his level of involvement and be thrilled by the originality and thorough mastery of his game. We’re infected by his focus and enthusiasm. Wherever we find it, admiration points toward joy.

Joy needn’t be passive. What psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called flow is available to everyone getting deep into what they’re doing. Full attention stimulates the best brain chemistry whatever the thing we love happens to be, and though it often is, it doesn’t have to be serious work. I’ve come across many philosophers both religious and secular that say something to the effect that action is holy. Spinoza won my heart when he said that cheerfulness is always good because it increases the person’s ability to act. For him anxiety was all about ideas without the energy to act on them. Any action stimulates dopamine, the chemical of focus and pleasure.

On a small scale fast paced games are a good way to achieve one=pointedness. After reading Jill McGonigal‘s book, “Reality’s Broken, Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World” ,I decided I needed a video game in my life so settled on Tetris. I was immediately happy about the level of unbroken attention it demanded of me. That meant I was getting dopamine, and as the game got faster, the reactions were quicker. If I lasted long enough I could even achieve ta flow state in this minor version of self-improvement, When full attention is directed outward, the loss of self-consciousness is a great relief, and may be an important component of joy, attention rushing out to embrace the world. It’s an easily available adjustment to brain chemistry. So now, when I’m painting or drawing and my attention dips, I take a Tetris break, It clears my mind and pumps up my dopamine and I’m ready to get back into my work.

Joy, Peace and Goodwill through the holidays and into 2020.