Author: Susan Minarik

Called By Joy

I remember the very moment I encountered the Order of Joy Warriors. I had been writing and paused because all my thoughts had vanished. That happens sometimes. It’s as if the part of your mind that puts things into words is waiting for the next clear thought to emerge so you can continue. I think of it as an intermission.

So there I was in this kind of blank space, quiet and waiting, when an image popped into my head. It was a large ivory-colored banner, and on it, written in golden letters that seemed to float somehow, were the words “Order of Joy Warriors.”

As I sat there staring at it, I got the distinct feeling that, even though I had no idea what it meant, I was being invited to join. “What’s not to like?” I said to myself. And right out loud, I said, “Okay.” But it wasn’t a whimsical agreement. It felt important, as if I was making a significant choice.

Over the course of the next couple of days, I was flooded with sustained peak experiences. It was a feast of good feelings–amusement, gratitude, appreciation, serenity, love, contentment, awe. Then something inside me asked me to reaffirm that I wanted to be a Joy Warrior. And I said, “Yes,” with the solemnity one gives to taking an oath.

I kind of went about my normal routine after that, only thinking about the Order now and then. The whole episode had taken place, after all, in my imagination. I confess, I even scoffed at it a bit. It seemed frivolous, given all the injustice and suffering in the world, to be focused on joy. Wouldn’t it be better to focus on some aspect of the world’s ills and work toward its healing? Joy seemed an almost ridiculous pursuit.

But as time went on, I began to see deeper into joy. I realized that I have been studying its various guises all my life. I’d fulfilled the prerequisites for eligibility into the Order. Now I had been offered the opportunity to learn to master living in joy. Little did I realize that when I accepted the offer what a challenging mission it would be.

It’s not like the world’s streets are overflowing with joy. It’s there, of course, shining. But its light is blocked by enormous swaths of a malevolent darkness that seems intent on extinguishing it altogether.

That’s why a commitment to joy matters. And that’s why members of the Order are deemed Warriors. We’ll talk about the enemies of joy later on. For now, I will only say that they are formidable and everywhere. That much is obvious to us all. As I said, it’s a challenging mission. We war with ourselves and with each other on so many fronts! The path of joy is not for sissies.

But the compensation is beyond measure and make every step more than worthwhile. I’m chronicling my journey here in the hope that you might choose to become a member of the Order, too. I can only tell you, of course, of my personal experiences. But I suspect that mine are universal in many ways. It will give you an idea what to expect, should you want to consider taking the pledge, and what you’re up against, and how meaningful and glorious are the rewards. And even if joining the Order isn’t your cup of tea, I hope you’ll benefit, or at least be entertained, by learning more about it. Stay tuned.

The Order of the Flexitarian Harmonizers, Joy Warrior Brigade

I guess we all want some kind of self-defined identity, a way to describe ourselves in a word or two, to state our primary life-orientation. Years ago, I invented an invisible business card on which I listed my title as “Adept Generalist.” It was a sort of non-sexist way of saying “Jack of All Trades.”

Then, a while back, I decided that I had refined my skills sufficiently to warrant a new title. With a sense of serious commitment to the designation, I declared myself a Flexitarian Harmonizer.

I envisioned the title as a kind of mission statement, a determination to bring harmony to human relationships through a commitment to flexibility in accepting others’ views of reality.

 It had become apparent to me that each of us lives in our own unique reality bubble, built of the data and experiences we gather as we go along, and everyone’s version of reality is as true and real to them as mine is to me. Maybe even more so. Probably more so, since it doesn’t seem to be a common practice among most of my fellows to question the validity of their bubble’s walls, or to wish to expand or alter them in any way.

Most of us cling to our versions of reality quite fervently, I observed. We’re not really into flexitarianism these days, despite popular notions of “tolerance” and “inclusion.” That’s not a fault. Our interpretations of reality let us make sense of the world. They give us some basis for making decisions about what is safe or valuable or pleasing for us.

I decided it was a gift when others would allow me to look at the world from inside their reality bubbles. And they would do that, I had learned, only to the extent that I didn’t find fault with them. That’s where the harmonizer part of my mission kicked in.

It seems a hundred years ago that I chose my new title. Little did I know back then where my commitment to that identity would lead, or how challenging it would become. Over time, I began to think of Flexitarian Harmonizers as a kind of spiritual Order. I saw it as my “calling,” you might say.

Then, several months ago, I suddenly accepted an invitation from myself to join a specialized unit of Harmonizers called the Joy Warrior Brigade. Not only would I continue to bring harmony into my surroundings in every possible way, but I would devote myself, for some extended period of time, to specialize as a Joy Warrior, manifesting joy, regardless of the obstacles, and promoting it, as a means of rescuing humanity from what increasingly appeared to be its engulfment and possible annihilation by forces of evil that opposed joy on every front.

I began my apprenticeship as a Joy Warrior little suspecting what an arduous path stretched before me. The enemy is entrenched, deeply cunning, and vile beyond anything I could have imagined. It didn’t take long to discover why members of the brigade were called warriors. The task of living and promoting joy is, indeed, a battle.

I’ll share some of my adventures and the lessons they’ve taught me as we go along. For now, I just wanted to give you a little background about how it all began.

Got a Minute?

Every now and then I like to pull a book from my shelves and see what’s waiting on the page to which I randomly open it. It’s a fun game, and more often than not, the words I find seem surprisingly relevant to whatever is going on in my thoughts or circumstances at the time.

On a whim, I did that today. And what I found was this little verse:

Life is just a minute
Only sixty seconds in it,
Forced upon you, can’t refuse it.
Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it,
But it’s up to you to use it.
You must suffer if you lose it,
Give an account if you abuse it,
Just a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.

For those of us who are still spending our days closed in our homes, every minute just might feel as if it lasts for eternity! Somebody made a comment on social media this week that she felt she was living in the movie “Groundhog Day,” where every day was exactly like the one before.

But the truth is that every minute is wholly unique. Everything is constantly changing. And it is our choice how to view that minute, how to use it. Like our breath, it’s a precious gift. It’s a moment of our life, holding all life’s mystery and potential. And we are completely free to choose how we will spend it.

We can let it pass by without notice, our attention lost in dreams of moments past or in fantasies of moments yet to come. Or we can use it as a stepping stone that moves us closer to accomplishing a goal we have in mind. We can see it as an opportunity, a invitation to move in a new direction, a door opening to a future where we get to be exactly who we want to be.

We can see it as a vehicle to carry away what we no longer want or need–our sadness, our pain, our anger, our despair.

It’s so malleable, so open, so completely ready to be whatever we choose to make of it. Isn’t that absolutely amazing?

It’s easy to think that this minute must wear the colors of the moment that came before it, that it must continue the same line of thought, the same mood. But that simply isn’t true. This minute, this one we’re living in right now, is wholly subject to our will. We’re free to make of it anything we choose.

But not only are we free to do with it as we will, we’re responsible for how we will choose to use it.

We can choose to let it be a moment of clarity and excellence and purpose. We can use it to fuel ourselves, to give ourselves rest. We’re free to stand still in it and see its incredible beauty, or to dance in it, or to fill it with love and kindness or with laughter and joy.

We’re free to waste it, too. But don’t do that. A minute might seem like such a little thing. But you only get so many of them, you know? And you never know when the next one might be your last. Make ‘em count.