Communicable Joy

I recently drove to the Y's scenic Camp Thompson on a Sunday afternoon. I was going there to talk with the Camp Koala folks about the Mentoring Project. Camp Koala facilitates a 3-day resident camp experience for children ages 7-12 grieving the loss of a parent or primary caregiver. While I was supportive of their work, I wasn't looking forward to the presentation. I envisioned such a camp to be heavy, thick with grief, and depressed. What I found was completely different, joyful in fact.

In a recent blog post, Margaret Feinberg writes, "... Harvard and MIT researchers documented that the spread of happiness (or sadness) is absolutely contagious, with spreading patterns very similar to communicable diseases like the flu." Many studies have already shown the positive holistic health effects of a positive attitude and joyful living. Feinberg identifies such examples from a BBC article that cites a group of psychologists who found that, "positive thinkers live 7.5 years longer than their more pessimistic counterparts. Have a positive attitude toward aging proved to have even greater effect than physiological measures like blood pressure and cholesterol. And a [another study] concluded that laughter helps blood vessels stay healthier."

I have a friend that directs a local food bank. A few weeks ago I saw her sitting in the lobby of the Y, while two others played the guitar and sang. My friend said that she was on her way into the Y for her workout, but "heard this beautiful music and decided to stop and sit for a bit and enjoy it." I believe in life lived slow, but as the practical realities of my day mount, I'm too easily lured by the temptress of the to-do list, often at the cost of stopping to enjoy the music for a bit. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that read, "Don't postpone joy." My food bank friend reminded me of this, her contagious appreciation of the moment.

I write often about this slower, joy-focused living, however it isn't my nature. I'm a skeptic.  Most of my career, I've been in positions of risk management. I identify the negative, the what-ifs, and the worst case scenarios before they happen. My inclination is not to, as John Calvin said, "[see] sparks of His glory, as it were, glittering in every created thing." The negativity and discontent that's created from such a worldview can be suffocating. In turn, my writing on intentional living is, in a sense, a sermon to myself. A call to hold life loosely, breathe deeply, live fully, and look with wonder at the world around. I need daily reminders to do this. Eighteen months ago, my wife accepted author Ann Voskamp's dare to name, number, and journal 1,000 gifts of grace. I thought it was a quaint task for my sweet wife, but too Pollyanna for me.  Her grace journaling was contagious.  Today, I listed #920, "sitting on the deck after work and playing Zingo with my kids."

Camp Koala packed the Masland Dining Hall with campers, their families, counselors, therapists, and "big buddies." They smiled, they laughed, and they talked. They all seemed a bit giddy to me for those walking through a very difficult season of suffering. As part of their closing ceremonies, the campers and staff performed a song that they had written during their time at camp. The chorus, repeated often, said "as we celebrate our time together." These campers weren't hovering under a dark cloud of depression, they were bursting skyward in celebration of their memories of time with loved ones. This was evident in their smiling faces as they walked outside and released balloons attached with a note to their loved one lost. They looked up, breathed, released the balloons, and exhaled a contagious joy that I was blessed to be exposed.

Finding More in Less

There are days when I long for the simplicity of life that my kids enjoy. They love their parents and gain security through the love that they receive from us. They're eager to learn, grow, discover the world through the joy of play. They laugh at each other and at themselves. They imagine themselves in exciting adventures. They're fully awake and present until the moment that they finally drift off to sleep at night. Their lives are simple. Their joy of living isn't choked out by the weeds of stress and worry. In their innocence, they make simple choices that provide them with a better reality.

My wife is reading a book entitled, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are (Voskamp, Ann). The book is about finding hope in the ordinary. The author started the book on a dare to keep a list of the many things that bring her joy. The list contains many ordinary things like the sun shining through the window, the smell of cookies baking, or a beautiful landscape that you see on a summer stroll. The book focuses on finding joy and experiencing happiness through being attentive to the thousands of blessings that we have each day. She makes simple choices of gratitude that provide her with a more joyful reality.

Rueters recently ran an article that also discussed simple changes that can change our reality for the better. (Kelland, Kate. Simple Life Changes Could Stop Millions of Cancers). The article says that about one-third of all common cancers can be prevented through simple life changes such as eating healthier, drinking less alcohol, and exercising more. Cancer is the leading cause of death around the world, killing 7.6 million people each year. This number is projected to climb to 13.2 million people a year in 2030. Low levels of physical activity are the leading cause of many of these cancers. (The World Health Organization recommends that adults get 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week). In short, simple changes can save your life.

Consider the time that you have on this earth and what story you are writing with your life. Make small changes to write a better story. (Thanks to Don Miller for this illustration). Learn from children to laugh at yourself and with others. Create more margin in your life and be thankful for the ordinary. Do your part to prevent cancer: eat healthier, stop smoking, walk more. Find more life in simplicity!