The 21st lojong slogan says, “Always maintain only a joyful mind.” Straight-forward enough, right? Except, being constantly joyful sounds impossible, doesn’t it?
I was talking with my best friend the other day and we agree: we’re over it. We are over Covid and all the restrictions and how hard this is on our kids and how much everyone’s mental health is suffering. It feels like an impossible amount of grief and an endlessly complex situation and we are just totally, completely over it. We also agreed we’re tired of trying to find the silver lining or being positive about it. At this point, it feels like faking.
Well, this lojong slogan is not asking us to fake joy. It would be very un-Buddhist not to let those emotions have their moment. And the last thing we need is all the fake optimism and spiritual bypassing and decide that’s a genuine way to live. It isn’t.
So what do we do here? What does this mean?
I’m not sure I know how to put this into words, but here’s my shot at it: we allow ourselves to feel joy even if joy isn’t blooming all around us. Please notice, I didn’t say we manufacture joy or conjure up joy within us. That’s when we begin to feel fake, like we’re actually losing touch with what’s happening around us.
What I mean is that we see the situation for exactly what it is (Covid sucks, we are all so broken-hearted and so over it) and we also realize we do not have to live our entire emotional life on the basis of one thing that is happening right now. There’s also joy to be had, just by being alive, just by smelling the air after a fresh rain, or jumping in a puddle, or eating a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. We can look upon someone we love and feel joy stirring up naturally in our hearts.
We don’t have to fake joy. And we don’t have to create it. It’s already here. We simply practice having a joyful mind, one that can drop into those moments even when things around us feel hard.
Maybe the wisdom behind this slogan reminds us simply not to limit our emotional range. We can feel frustrated, tired, angry, sad, and joyful, all in the same day. Perhaps we find our best path when we just allow the joy in, regardless. Always maintaining a joyful mind does not mean only maintaining a joyful mind, to the exclusion of all other feelings. It’s just a reminder that without joy, we greatly limit ourselves.
Traleg Kyabgon translates this phrase, “Always have the support of a joyful mind.” That feels more doable. We don’t have to be walking rays of joy sunshine. But we do want joy to support us.
A joyful mind can be a touchstone where we remember the beauty of being human, despite all the mess. Where can you allow yourself to drop into joy this week?
