We were down south for a week meeting our new grandson Zane. He is such a tiny cutie with lots of hair. At 6 pounds 11 ounces he was almost the exact same size his dad was at birth. He is keeping the same eating schedule too, every hour and half during the day and every 4 hours at night. This visit brought back a lot of memories of my time as a new mother. Moments that at times were pure joy. Especially the actual moment of birth. Amazing miracle life is.
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Back home on the ranch we have had a string of perfect summer days. I feel 16 again. Working until about 4 pm around the home and then taking a ride on one of the geldings for a few hours. The other day I was riding the mustang along a trail under a turquoise blue sky (the polarized glasses helped). Billowy white clouds hung like spun sugar and the trees seemed to glow iridescent green. They were blindingly green. The wind blew gently on my face and at that moment I outstretched my arms trying to embrace it all. I was then surprised by tears flowing down my cheeks and I realized that if I died in that moment I would be full; running over. Pure joy.
I wonder about joy. That transcending, fleeting moment that grabs you and leaves you wanting more. Where does it come from and where does it go? Can we capture it and pull it out later when times seem joyless? I think not.
I call it Joy, which is here a technical term and must be sharply
distinguished both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy (in my sense) has
indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact
that anyone who has experienced it will want it again... I doubt whether
anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power,
exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in
our power and Pleasure often is.”
-C.S. Lewis in "Surprised by Joy"
