Joy is Resistance

The Power of Elation and Exuberance

“Joy is resistance,” the writer Amy Irvine wrote on Instagram today. She illustrated that simple statement with photo of herself standing out somewhere in the sandstone wilds of far western Colorado, smiling with a radiance we all need right now.

I believe Irvine is right. Which does not mean we should go about pretending we feel joy, and there is no meanness, cruelty and pain in the world.

It means that when we do feel joy, we should honor it, revel in it, and allow ourselves to absorb that lift of the heart, the springtime in the body, and the fizzing energy that joy brings.

To simply take time to feel and absorb joy is a powerful way to resist the anger and fear some would like to paralyze us with, the divisions that some profit from sowing among us, the pain of a world on fire and lives and communities shattered.

Cut-leaf germander (Teucrium laciniatum in the language of science), a several-inch high wildflower I found on my walk today, and which I have never seen before. Blooming before the rain, when the desert was still brown and dormant. Joy personified.

Joy reminds us that all is not lost, that this battered world still has much to offer. That exercising the muscles of exultation and exhilaration is one of the best ways to resist the de-humanizing forces at play in the world.

If you doubt the power of joy, watch this video of gymnast Simone Biles’ fierce and joyous floor routine at the Olympics today.

After all the hate-mongering and doubters when a case of the disorienting and dangerous “twisties” forced Biles to withdraw from the 2021 Olympics, today Biles’ performed for the sheer joy and fun of doing what she is so brilliant at: powerful and playful gymnastics.

She nailed it, and won a record-breaking 6th Olympic gold medal for that uplifting performance. (I defy you to not feel a rush of joy as you watch.)

And watch this video sharing the sheer joy I felt earlier this afternoon when rain finally visited my patch of high desert after weeks of extraordinary heat and drought. We had rain last nearly a month ago, and since then the short-grass prairie around my house has slowly withered, sent back into bleached dormancy by days of scorching heat and intense sun.

The joy of rain in the desert is impossible to describe unless you have experienced that shift from near-death to sudden, rushing life. The sound of rain plopping on the dry earth, raising puffs of dust. The sharp smell of microscopic lives in the soil coming awake and beginning to respire, cued by the blessing of moisture. The heart-lifting relief as life returns to the landscape.

And allow me to share a personal joy of being recognized as a “Champion of Nature” by Jeanne Malmgren, lpc, of Rx Nature. Malmgren not only beautifully captured my work and my terraphilia in her introduction and thoughtful interview, she recognized me as a kindred spirit. It is a joy to feel heard.

Be alert for joy in these difficult times. Soak it in, feel it uplift you, body, mind, heart, soul. And then share the joy.

Joy is resistance. (Thank you, Amy Irvine!)

Blessings, Susan