Thinking In Ink » Joyous Gard – What is it?

25. Art

levi — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:47:50 +0000

The following contains excerpts from the February 24th Wall Street Journal article, “The Choreographer on Why He Makes Dances.”

Choreographer Paul Taylor says this of his art: “I make dances because I can’t help it.” It’s a wonderful compulsion, isn’t it: to create. And it’s purely a human urge. No other animal has the need for artistic creativity.

Listen further to what Paul Taylor says of his profession: “From childhood on, I’ve been a reticent guy who spends a lot of time alone. I make dances in an effort to communicate to people.” We humans have a need to communicate, to share our feelings, our memories and our knowledge. When something makes us feel good we want others to know about it. And there are times when words seem almost helpless to convey such a feeling.

Taylor goes on to say that art — in his case, dance — is a universal language: “I love tinkering with natural gesture and pedestrian movement to make them read from a distance and be recognizable as a revealing language that we all have in common.”

Paul Taylor Dance Company: http://www.ptdc.org/

Day 25 Guide

The artist conveys simple ideas of love and beauty and hope. His language is interpreted by the heart. He moves the spirit and encourages us to live. But the noise of a busy world often deafens us to his call. Stop, my friend. Push yourself to listen, look and wait for the ideas that are bound in art.

2. Poetry and Life

levi — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:42:33 +0000

Swirls in the Mix

During the Christmas holidays my wife was determined to make a particular chocolate treat that was featured in Southern Living magazine. Determined, I say, because she didn’t give up after I bought the wrong type of chocolate at the grocery store. She tried to improvise using what I bought to create the same beautiful, swirling chocolate treats that she saw in the pictures. But it didn’t work. The recipe called for chocolate bars not the chocolate chips that I bought. Undiscouraged though, she trashed the failed first attempt and immediately set her mind on getting the Ghirardelli™ chocolate bars herself. Knowing exactly what she needed, my wife was off to grocery store

The recipe uses both dark and white chocolate squares laid out carefully in a checker board pattern on a cookie sheet lined with non-stick parchment paper. Heated for only a short time in the oven, the individual squares melt and bond themselves together forming a solid black and white checker-board. And that’s when the fun begins.

While the chocolate is still hot and gooey, use a toothpick to make random swirls in the checker-board. Let the artist in you come out and watch as the curves of white and dark chocolate intersect the straight lines of the squares, creating the wonderful holiday merger. Sprinkle chopped pecans on the chocolate before it cools and you’re done — but for one last step. Just like peanut brittle, the cool chocolate must be broken, leaving the wonderful patterns of lines and curves on the individual pieces. They’re almost too pretty to eat.

Day 2 Guide

How do you open the pathways to beauty? Are you determined? Make it your plan this year to elevate the importance of unlocking the treasures of Joyous Gard.

28. Poetry

levi — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:40:17 +0000

A Man’s Word

I enjoy the rhythm of Christmas. Things in my world slow down this time of year, and I welcome the change of pace. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending some time with my friend Roy, a man nearly twenty years my senior whose spirit for living and good sense of humor make him young at heart. I mostly listened as Roy told me about this career as a mechanic and machinist. Having visited with my father earlier that same morning, Roy told me, “I’ve never met a person who had a negative thing to say about your father. He’s earned a real good reputation over the years. I think a lot of that man. My mother was that way, too. Everybody loved her.”

As we talked, Roy told me about his years in the cotton mills and in production with various industrial plants. He told me about the bosses he’d had over the years and the various trials he faced. Indirectly, Roy was telling me about his philosophy of work: the responsibilities, as he saw them, of a worker, the importance of the quality of one’s work and the sacred nature of a man’s word. Roy easily admitted his failings and shortcomings but then never apologized for holding on to his beliefs of fairness and honesty. If anything, Roy, I believe, is a man of a word. And maybe that’s what Roy was trying to answer about himself as he recounted his days in the workforce: Had he earned a good reputation over the years? What would people say about him in later years?

It’s been said that behind every good man is a strong woman. And I know that to be the case with Roy. It is my sense that over the years, his wife Linda, who I’ve known for as long as I can remember, has given him a needed sense of love, stability and safety at home. I believe that his marriage, his children, and the prayers offered up for him have been Roy’s refuge and his strength. They have been his Joyous Gard, the castle whose walls have protected the very reputation he sought to earn.

Day 28 Guide

Think about those who’ve held, protected and cared for you over the years. Think about those you love and those who’ve loved you, for it is through relationships that we earn the most important things.

15. Life

levi — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:32:03 +0000

Joyous Gard is a very perilous place, if we grow too indolent to leave it; the essence of it is refreshment and not continuance. There are two conditions attached to the use of it; one is that we should have our own wholesome work in the world, and the second that we should not grow too wholly absorbed in labour.

— A.C. Benson, Joyous Gard, Life

At times I feel as though I’m clicking on all cylinders. But then other times, everything’s a struggle. Sometimes I wonder: Is there a combination of elements of mind and body that must be present in order to feel energetic and alive? Or is it less the very presence of elements than it is a balance?

Consider your physical health and fitness, for example. It’s hard to have a good outlook on life when you’re sick or tired, isn’t it? Why even a headache is enough to frustrate your efforts and zap essential motivation. It’s equally hard to maintain a balanced sense of well-being when you’re swamped with too many things to do. You need some time to think and plan. Work is important. But so is listening to music or reading poetry. Taking a break to look up at the stars helps to renew your spirit.

Day 15 Life

Ask yourself: Are you in control of your day? Or is it in control of you? Balance is a key.

19. Ideas

levi — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:38:54 +0000

Alice in Wonderland

Coffee’s Brewing

Early one morning last week I went to the grocery store to buy a few necessary breakfast items: milk, bread and coffee. Checking out at the cashier’s station, I picked up a local magazine and handed it to the attendant along with my store card, which saves money on select items. After all was totaled and the discount applied the cashier reported the amount due: “twenty even,” he said.

I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve had a grocery store transaction end in an even dollar amount. I even asked the cashier: “Wow! How often does that happen? To have a transaction end with an even dollar amount like twenty dollars?” I could tell, however, that he wasn’t terribly impressed, and he gave me a sleepy-eyed stare that said in effect, “It’s too early in the morning to think about stuff like that.”

For me, mornings are an ideal time to think about possibilities. The slate of my mind is usually clear. Confusion has yet to develop. The world is quiet. All is calm and still. And ideas incubate, seemingly on the hunt for connections.

Day 19 Guide

What is your best time of the day? Be sure to give your highest to the best. Think of your spirit’s natural rhythm and squeeze your most important creative work into that ideal time.

16. Life

levi — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:37:15 +0000

Upside Down and Inside Out

Trails

I live my life on paper roads
With ink that stains my hand,
Blotting troubles long forgotten
Plodding ’bout this land.

Day 16 Guide

Life should be more — is more –than….. (you complete the sentence).

15. The Principle of Beauty

levi — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 11:35:33 +0000

The true lover of beauty will await it everywhere, will see it in the town, with its rising roofs and its bleached and blackened steeples, in the seaport with its quaint crowded shipping, in the clustered hamlet with its orchard-closes and high-roofed barns, in the remote country with its wide fields and its converging lines, in the beating of the sea on shingle-bank and promontory;

The Principle of Beauty, Joyous Gard,

I am one of the millions of television viewers who over the years have enjoyed the Andy Griffith show. I believe that the characters living in that make-believe town of Mayberry represent the best in man. They were for the most part hard-working and honest. They were loving and caring and considerate. But like us they struggled and carried the weight of pride that blinds the heart to a sense of the greater things.

If you will remember, there were times on the show when Barney Fife (the faithful deputy of Sheriff Andy Taylor) wanted to be more than he was. Or when Aunt Bea got her feelings hurt because she wasn’t recognized for her finer qualities. Even Andy, the most balanced character of them all, struggled at times with feelings of inadequacy. The characters of Mayberry were like you and me. They were real. And in my opinion that’s why the 1960s television show remains popular even today.

Day 15 Guide

Are you sometimes restless? Are you bored or unsettled with the course of your life? I believe that it’s only when you find the common lines of day to be lovely that you are sure to be within the gates of Joyous Gard.

Slow down, my friend. Take a drive or a long walk. Stay away from the distractions and think more about relationships. Write a love letter to your spouse. Think of how important a small, unexpected gift could be: a Hersey’s kiss, a flower, a ticket to the movies, a card. Concentrate today on the simple things.

14. The Sense of Beauty

levi — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 11:33:59 +0000

What do you see?

On my best days I sense things in the light of heaven, as if all were alive and necessary: the birdsong, the starry dome, the wind, the rain, the ocean’s roar, or the quiet moment of repose at dusk. But there are other times when I see only the walls that have captured my spirit. My senses are dull. I remain unmoved. On my best days I feel boundless and energetic. Other times, tired, phlegmatic.

This morning I made an effort to find something that would help me rise above the clouds as my eyes caught the intersection of the straight wooden lines and curves at the foot of my bed. I found the design to be quite natural in a world where God created both male and female, that together they may be one.

Day 14 Guide

Today try to find something significant in the corners of life. Because in places where you least expect it, the keys to unlock a better day are many times hidden

12. Progress

levi — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:32:38 +0000

Breaking down barriers: that’s what comes to mind when I think of making progress. You see, I have a terribly hard time staying focused. How about you? Do you find that sometimes it’s just easier to take care of life’s chores than to face the challenge of moving forward? It’s not that I even mind the labor of busyness. In fact, I think staying busy helps to mask the pain of sensing a will that seems all too frail.

I have dozens of excuses to justify my immobility: not enough money or time, too many other responsibilities. However, as much as it would seem like I might need an entire army to slay these Titans of sloth, a breath of inspiration is all that’s really needed to stir the spirit and free my mind. By what means is such a breath drawn? Are we able to call on that power ourselves? I think so.

We must first believe. If not poetry, then life is merely a series of events given over by the forces of nature. The breath of power is in believing that God moves us in a direction according to His purpose. You must believe too that your struggle is worthy and that you are, in fact, engaged in a battle for your soul and your joy. Many are the roads to Joyous Gard, but so too are the paths that lead to nowhere.

Day 11 Guide

Today, be prepared to battle with hopelessness. In the face of such an enemy find a voice – that of a friend, a poet, a child – to draw you back on the high road.

9. Faith

levi — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:30:23 +0000

The outcasts of society, the sinful, the ill-regulated, would never have so congregated about our Saviour if they had felt Him to be shocked or indignant at sin. What they must rather have felt was that He understood them, loved them, desired their love, and drew out all the true and fine and eager and lovable part of them, because he knew it to be there, wished it to emerge. “He was such a comfortable person!” as a simple man once said to me of one of the best of Christians: “if you had gone wrong, he did not find fault, but tried to see the way out; and if you were in pain or trouble, he said very little; you only felt it was all right when he was by.

– Faith, Joyous Gard

Life is full of uncomfortable places, isn’t it? Days when all seems to be crowding about, hindering one’s view to a needed retreat. Or when the stress of impatient souls tugs and twists the mind to think of unimportant things. Many of us, it seems, get easily caught up in the race, losing sight of the enduring peace that is ours to enjoy. Worry besets the man whose faith is lacking, and the memory of Christ’s earthly life is easily forgotten. But He must have been, as the above quote says, “a comfortable person,” one whose very presence would immediately quiet the storm.

Day 9 Guide

How is it that you might be a person whose very presence is comforting? Do you inspire hope? Or do you elevate worry in others? Concentrate today on being a friend to man by removing, instead of building, barriers.

13. Experience

levi — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:29:05 +0000

On the Edge

My friend Larry and his wife recently took a “canyon trip.” Over the period of a week they visited several of this country’s natural marvels, taking time along the way to snap some photographs and enjoy the dramatic sunsets. One of their stops included an excursion down into the mouth of the canyon by way of a mule. The particular mule that Larry rode was appropriately named Rim Walker for his obvious penchant to walk so close to the edge. “Weren’t you afraid he might fall?” I asked. “No,” he said. “I was afraid that I might fall.”

There are some experiences in life that I’d simply rather not have. And that’s one of them. I’ll leave the rim walking, the sky diving, and the bungee jumping to souls more daring than I. Just give me a sunset and a glass of wine.

Day 13 Guide

I’m glad that others are able to convey the experiences that I’d rather not have directly. Listen to the stories and learn from the experiences of others.

12. Hope

levi — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 11:27:08 +0000

Next time

Most of time there’s a next time, and thankfully so. Life would be torturous indeed if there were no opportunities to try again. The pain of disappointment is mitigated by the thought that there may be other chances for success.

Day 12 Guide

Remember that hope is an expectation, an expectation of things desired. Don’t lose that hope, my friend. Keep on trying.

28. Work

levi — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 11:25:42 +0000

I don’t know whether it’s the lighter-fluid or the water that makes them shine up so well. I think Jerry would tell you it’s his own special mix of polish, liquids and elbow-grease that makes a pair of shoes look new again. And he ought to know. He’s been at it for over thirty years, buffing an endless stream of wingtips, leather boots and loafers. His place of business: a small corner inside the local barber shop. His office: a single “shine” chair (for customers), surrounded by several shelves for staging shoes in-process. Most of Jerry’s customers drop off their shoes for later pick-up. But sometimes he’ll have a customer who wants a haircut and a shine right there on the spot. And Jerry is always willing to accommodate. He seems to enjoy the company of a walk-in customer.

Jerry is fun to watch. He sings and laughs while he’s working. And he rarely sits down. In between vigorous buffing strokes, Jerry will pause to take a short break. But then he’ll bear down on it again and work until the shoes finally meet with his approval. It’s the best shine you’ll ever see on a pair of shoes. And Jerry knows it. He’s proud of his work. His customers expect near perfection, and Jerry aims to please.

Day 20 Guide

Too many people consider their work to be a chore – drudgery. But work is good for the soul. Don’t wish your time away.

13. Science

levi — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 01:52:40 +0000

One of the clearly discernible laws of life is that we can both check and contract habits; and when we begin our day, we can begin it if we will by prayer and aspiration and resolution, as much as we can begin it with bath and toilet. We can say, “I will live resolutely to-day in joy and good-humour and energy and kindliness.” Those powers and possibilities are all there; and even if we are overshadowed by disappointment and anxiety and pain, we can say to ourselves that we will behave as if it were not so;

– Science, Joyous Gard

We’ve all met the pain of disappointment. We feel it when something that we expect or aspire to doesn’t come to pass, when a hope expires. Disappointment is a difficult sort of sadness in that it calls on us to readjust, to say goodbye to a hope or a dream and to move on.

Acquiring a new hope or dream helps to bridge the chasm of pain. In order to move forward we must focus on some new possibility. But it’s hard to do when the reminder of disappointment follows us around, isn’t it? How is it that we can face life again with the energy and vitality of our earlier dreams? Disillusionment, I think, is a key to overcoming disappointment. Let me explain.

We humans are competitive, and we Americans, especially so. It’s easy to fall prey to the illusion that the world is zero-sum. We see the haves and have-nots, those with jobs and those without, those in groups or clubs and those left out. It is especially so today that people fight for position and power and that we idolize those who have “captured the flag.” You’ve heard it said before that there’s little room at the top.

The most important things in life are not zero-sum, however: creativity and imagination, love and friendship, ideas. Think of the love of Christ. No one wanting is left thirsty. In God’s kingdom there is enough for everyone. And knowing such boundlessness soothes the pain of disappointment. When limits are removed, disappointment suddenly leaves and dreams are restored.

Day 3 Guide

When in the shadow of disappointment, think of those things without limits.

1. Sympathy

levi — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:51:00 +0000

I cherish the times, the places, and the circumstances when I have connected with someone in an unusual way. I often walk through the spaces of remembrance to reawaken and capture the presence of those times. And as if they are active spirits caught in the wind of thought, I wonder if they too are thinking of me. Are there mutual connections of sympathy and understanding that might slumber but never die? I’m kept alive by thinking so. That someone would never lose sight of me – it’s the great Christian hope, isn’t it? It’s a hope also shared by close friends and family.

Day 1 Guide

Consider that someone at this very moment may be thinking of you. It’s wonderful to think that you’re never forgotten. And yet the pain of uncertainty is sometimes greater. Drop someone a note today.

– Just thinking of you.

31. Accessibility

levi — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 01:48:44 +0000

We, most of us, are so attuned to the day-to-day that we easily lose sight of the greater within – the life inside that enables us to sense the higher things. The sweet light of a setting sun, the love between two, the pattern of absolute perfection in God’s creation, these are objects of that inner sense. How is it that we return to the greater within?

There are many pathways that would take us back to this place of ultimate clarity and connectedness, the place called Joyous Gard. Music, reminiscence, laughter, love, poetry – these are the muses that dance perpetually in the background of life, calling only those who desire.

Day 31 Guide

Listen. Be still. Submit to the beckoning voices that would lead you back to Joyous Gard.

30. Thought

levi — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 01:46:04 +0000

When I was a teenager I was interested in the purported power of mind over matter. I was intensely curious to know if pure thought could in fact move or affect objects. I’d seen books and videos on the subject, and they compelled me to believe some people did truly hold such power. As the years passed my interest in the subject waned, and my curiosity shifted to yet another particular power of mind, that of thought over human action. To what extent, I wondered, did thought determine one’s actions and one’s state of mind?

It’s a question that I’ve continued to ask myself over the years, as if to further solidify my belief that thinking is intimately tied to results. No thinking, no results. I believe that at the heart of every great enterprise is a great thinker, and at the heart of every ounce of contentedness is a leading thought or a reflection. Thinking changes your mind. It has the power to alter your mood in a split second and move you closer to ecstasy or despair.

Daily 30 Guide

God has given us a mind. We should use that mind to think, to understand, to pray, and to seek wisdom. Learn to think your way out of the box. Start by replacing complaints with good thoughts.

9. Visions

levi — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:58:30 +0000

My dog, Puddles, is antisocial. She loves humans. But she cares very little about her own kind. She’s ten-years-old and is set in her ways, and I can’t blame her for not wanting to be bothered by others dogs, especially those who are overly curious or who want to just run and play.

Puddles finds Callie, our cat, to be just bearable. But she, too, is antisocial. That’s rather typical of cats, isn’t it, to be independent and aloof? Puddles is a great little dog. She pines for us when we leave home. I think that Callie, in her own special way, even loves us too. She tends to hang around us and enjoy our company, just always at arm’s length.

Ollie is a sixty pound Great Dane puppy. He lives next door but sometimes comes over to see Puddles. He’s got a lot of energy and wants to play all the time. But not Puddles. Ollie likes to run. Puddles likes to sleep. When Ollie starts sniffing, Puddles growls — a rather weak defense for a dog that weighs only ten pounds, don’t you think? Ollie doesn’t’ seem to recognize Puddles’ growl as any sort of threat. And that’s a good thing since Ollie’s return punch would, I’m sure, be more than Puddles could manage.

Day 9 Guide

Relationships: think of how you relate to your friends and family. Relationships develop and grow only when barriers are broken down, when defenses have been lowered and you allow people into your life. Vulnerability is a key to a close friendship.

8. Humor

levi — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 20:54:30 +0000

A letter to my son

Dear Son,

Day by day, in simple ways
Some men can make us better.
They teach without a single word,
That’s why I write this letter.

Don’t let the sort with anxious minds
Blind you with ambition.
But look for patient, quiet souls.
Let first that be your mission.

Seek those men who work and live
Their lives for something higher,
Then find a way to be near them
And let their peace inspire.

Listen to the words they speak
And how they talk with friends.
Look for men who don’t find fault
And whose happiness depends

Less on things they have or own
Than on how they make a life,
And on how much they can love a son,
Or a daughter, and a wife.

I pray, my boy, that as you walk
And fight those giants within
That you’ll have learned to use the sling
From David’s mighty men.

Love,

Dad

Day 8 Guide:

Who have been your life teachers? Think about the habits and traits of those you admire. Be open to change.

31. Retrospect

levi — Thu, 31 May 2007 20:53:44 +0000

I used to like most anything that had a motor attached to it. Growing up I had a go-cart. For a while it was fun, but then my interest waned and I moved up to a motorcycle. It was a faster and smoother ride. But then, when I was old enough to get my drivers license, I realized there was no better way to get from point A to point B than in a car. I still have that old, “nearly-new” motorcycle in my basement.

I remember taking guitar lessons. I was really interested for a while, and my parents were nice to surprise me with an awesome red electric guitar. But as was my tendancy I quit taking lessons one summer and never started back. I still have that barely-used guitar in my attic.

After I married I took piano lessons. For six years I went to a once-a-week lesson on my lunch break. I was doing pretty well but eventually slowed down on my practice and quit taking altogether. Oh, I can still play a few songs. But mostly, that upright piano is there in my den for my daughter.

Day 31 Guide

Today take a look at your history in order to discover patterns of broken lines or weak links. Make it your effort to discover the areas in which you should commit resources for improvement.