July 3, 2013
"Joy is in the overflow. Our society stays affluent by making its container bigger when it is just about to overflow, so the joy of overflowing is taken away. But if we make our vessel smaller and smaller, by reducing our needs, then the overflowing joy will come sooner and sooner. " -Sister Stan
This perspective sheds new depth on the psalm line, "my cup runneth over"... I was watching a video of malali, the young girl from Pakistan, giving a speech to the UN and found myself overjoyed when she warmly, and repeatedly, referred to her audience as "my brothers and sisters"... In 4 small words, she reduced the container that houses our borders, our prejudices, our injustices, and our separateness, and filled the room and the hearts of all who watched and heard with joy and hope. It was an overflow moment, one that I was loathe to turn from (I watched her speech 3 times!).
ReplyDeleteYou have me thinking. What produces joy in me? People. People's actions. Nature. Definitely not things. Thanks for the quote!
ReplyDeleteSister Stan (born Stanislaus Kennedy) is so inspiring for me! I highly recommend her book "Gardening the Soul."
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