From our friends at Soul Matters:

“It’s easy to get tricked,

taken for a ride,

convinced that joy

is a possession.

 

Something to be caught, contained and controlled

just by us.

As if it’s a birthday present,

waiting for us to unwrap it 

and keep forever and ever.

 

And who can blame us,

with pain seeming so powerfully prevalent, and permanent. 

If sadness can stay for so long,

why can’t joy?

 

But maybe it’s elusive

for a reason.

Maybe it’s slippery

in order to help us understand

that it was put here to fly.

Or better yet:

To be flung!

To be passed, not possessed.

To be spread

between you and me,

between the ones who receive its gift

and the ones that have been looking for its treasure

for a very long time.

 

Maybe it’s a beautiful and elegant contagion,

over which we just might have more control than we think.

If only we share it.

If only we notice that joy is not ours to keep,

but ours to give.

 

Maybe joy is a gift that opens us

as much as we open to it.

 

Maybe that’s the way light leaks into our weary world.”

UUFM is a part of the Soul Matters Sharing Circle, which provides resources for our Sunday Services, children’s Religious Education, and Chalice Circles. Check out our year of themes here and read above for the thoughtful introduction to this month’s theme, Joy.