“The Transformative Power of Heartache and Defiant Joy”

My heart is filled with so much sorrow for the suffering we are witnessing, even more so with the war so recklessly started by Empire against Iran. The practice of joy is a counterbalance that helps me carry the weight, levity helps gravity from pulling me down where I am not able to help myself or others. Learning to embrace rather than fear our own deep sorrow, letting it open our heart to our interconnection with all of life, is a path to joy. Practicing joy and connection is an act of defiance when living in a system that wants, needs us to be afraid, alienated, and angry. For some of us, simply being our full self with a healthy sense of pride, holding our heads high, is an act of defiant joy, for we didn’t let shame keep us in the shadows.

Facilitator: D. Patton White
Musician: Scott Hooker and Janna Nelson