Holding Out for Joy

The other day, a bumblebee landed on my window and it felt like both a message from my Grandma Libele saying, “Hello, I’m here,” and a message of hope. She wanted me to know that joy and sweetness are coming.

It’s hard to believe that. It’s tempting to say everything is awful and to build a case based on real-world events. There are some truly terrible things happening and humans have a negativity bias. We are primed to focus on the negative, and due to trauma (which we all have to varying degrees), sometimes our fears can be front and center. Trauma rewires our brains and bodies so we start scanning for threats. It’s a protection mechanism. All of which is to say it’s easier to believe bad things will happen rather than wonderful things.

However, my spiritual philosophy emphasizes the opposite and points out we’re all running after joy and happiness. We constantly seek pleasure in the finite world from drugs, sex, food, shopping, travel, etc. And not only human beings but all beings seek pleasure. For instance, cats search for warm, comfortable spots so they can curl up and sleep. We are all pursuing joy.

The ancient Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, say, “This quinquelemental world has been born out of joy, is being maintained in joy, and into sacred joy will melt.” I’ve shared that quote a few times because it’s so powerful: The world was born out of joy, is being maintained in joy, and into sacred joy will melt. Instead of being a cold, cruel place, the world can be a beautiful, joyful one.

That’s what the bumblebee was reminding me. In shamanism, bumblebees represent the honey or sweetness of life. The bee was saying, “Yes, remember life is joyful, it’s sweet. Good things are coming, and keep in mind that positive outcomes are just as likely as negative ones.”

Similarly, my spiritual teacher says, “On deeper analysis, we find that every object of this universe is sweet. Sweetness, not harshness, is the reality. [The Divine Beloved] no doubt deals many blows to the microcosms, but that is just to facilitate their progress. Judged from a materialistic perspective, every blow is apparently harsh, but actually it is not harsh, it is soft. [The Divine] is concerned for your well-being, that is why [It] resorts to that apparently crude technique.”

Everything is in service of sweetness, to move me closer to the Divine Beloved that is within me and outside of me. Even the hard things. Even the painful things. Even the baffling things. The loving presence that pervades this entire universe wants me to be happy, wants me to be joyful. I’m being guided to that and the more I can trust that I’m being led somewhere joyful, that life is sweet, the better. The world was born out of joy, is being maintained in joy, and will melt in sacred joy. I am a part of that world so I, too, was born out of joy, am being maintained in joy, and will melt in sacred joy.

When I’m down in the dumps, it’s helpful for me to maintain a little perspective and remember that joy is coming. To hold out for it because joy is the natural order of things even if I have trouble seeing it. Good thing I have bumblebees to remind me.

I dream of a world where we remember positive outcomes are just as likely as negative ones. A world where we work against our negativity bias and focus on the positive. A world where we remember the world was born out of joy and if we’re not feeling joyful, we can hold out for it because joy is on its way.

Another world is not only possible, it’s probable.