[Vulnerability & Power - XXIV]
Joy originates in the body, not the mind. (Though we Westerners like to think everything of importance begins in our cognitive capacities.)
Bodily experiences are the result of place, action, and posture as opposed to thinking the right thoughts and insisting on a certain experience. Warmth comes from being in the sun rather than the shade or being under cover rather than exposed to the rain. The body get’s goosebumps if it’s underdressed and in the rain, regardless if we are imagining a fire.
There are a lot of books that prescribe certain mental habits to experience gratitude and joy. Many of them are good. But I can only think of one that addresses gratitude and joy as a communal experience.
Community assumes togetherness, mutuality, and diversity. Community is unpredictable and vulnerable.
If joy originates in the mind, then it’s safely protected from others, not contingent on community. But if it originates in the body, then it’s at the very least partially subject to the conditions around us, including those we interact with.
Often the most important questions to ask about joy are "bodily":
Is my community practicing gratitude and investing in joy? Does my community lean into the vulnerability of bodies and give thanks for diversity? Are the people around me tending to their bodies and the bodies of others?
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