Joy in hard times
03
Jan
It seems counterintuitive to have joy in difficult times, many have difficulty, the
Pandemic depressed and the world situation does not help, it is not even about alienation much less irony, it is about spirituality.
We indicate the book of the German monk Anselm Grün: Living with Joy (Vozes, 2014) he indicates in the introduction his intentions: “My goal is to draw your attention to many situations that we can rejoice” (p. 9) … ” I’m talking about getting in touch with the joy we all have in the depths of our souls” (p. 9).]
He clarifies that many people think that there are few reasons in life to rejoice: “thus they tend to regret themselves and life itself, in which they see no reason to rejoice” (idem).
He is convinced that this negative posture hides a great yearning and clarifies what was also the reason for choosing this book: “in the conjuncture in which we live, there are more reasons for sadness” (p. 10), although he speaks of a personal conjuncture it is possible to extend it to the social.
Thus, it invites us to observe “life in a different light”, in my case I operated on both eyes, to change glasses, not only to see more deeply, but from the perspective of other values and motivations.
It says in the introduction that it is a decision: “consciously choosing joy or regret in the face of difficulties”, it does not eliminate the negative aspects of life, but it avoids groping in the dark, light is created.
Even a small beam of light is enough to eliminate total pitch.
Grün, Alselm (2014) Viver com Alegria (Life with joy). Brazil, Petrópolis: Vozes.
