JOY!

How often do you feel joy in your life? What brings you joy? Are you good at finding it in the small things, or do you look for it externally?

A while ago, I went with my husband Nick up to Leicester to see the band James in concert. It was their Be Opened By The Wonderful tour. We spontaneously made a last-minute booking after excitedly seeing they had added a new date. Travelling up felt so good after a somewhat stressful few days. I had no idea how deeply affected I’d be by this beautiful work of art I was about to witness.

The concert

Never one to turn up too early, Nick and I rocked up around 7:45pm to catch some of the warmup band. Completely wrong! There was no warmup band, and the concert started at 7:30pm. Must have missed the memo on that one. We shuffled along the row of seats and eventually sat down. I was trying not to be miffed that we had missed some of it. Then, the next song started, and I was immediately captivated. Everything changed. Small, intimate venue with a full orchestra, a gospel choir, and the unique voice of the charismatic Tim Booth. Wow!

It was a sheer joy to the senses. I’m not ashamed to say that I cried most of the way through. They were unexpressed tears from many emotions, but the predominant feeling was pure joy. It was glorious. My heart cracked open, and I allowed myself to receive. I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen many concerts and theatre productions. Every one of them evoked some sort of emotion in me. However, this one felt different. It felt spiritual and divine. It was as though the energy emanated through the walls of the building. Then, out into the world to clear the densities of life. Can art be connected to the divine? I certainly think it can. 

Experiencing joy in the modern world

This experience taught me that I don’t seem to feel that much extreme joy very often. I am generally a positive person who tries to find gratitude for all parts of my daily life. But it’s got me thinking about how we experience joy. Does it have to be so extreme to truly recognise it as joy? Or are we lacking awareness as we rush through our hectic, modern lives?