On January 12 2007, a famous violinist played in the Washington DC metro. During the 45 minutes that he played, 1097 people passed by and 27 people gave him money – he collected $32.17 for his efforts.
But this violinist was Joshua Bell, who had played some of the most challenging and beautiful music on a $3.5 million Stradivarius violin the week before at a Boston concert.
Where our attention goes, energy flows. We might not all have the opportunity to hear a world famous violinist playing in the subway but we do have the chance to pause and experience awe and joy.
Of course, news offers us a constant barrage of doom and gloom. It’s easy to feel snowed under by the stories about war, dire financial predictions, political instability, hatred, greed and disease. Could things possibly be worse?
Surprisingly, we can become very attached to our worries and fears and gloomy mindset. Neuroscience has shown that what we repeatedly think changes our brain. Neurons that fire together repeatedly as we are thinking begin to wire together. It’s like a rut being worn in a road. Our brains are the same – over time the grooves are set and changing out of that rut of pessimistic thinking becomes more difficult.
The human brain is an amazing organ that we’re discovering continues to grow and change throughout our lifetime. So, even though science has shown that we are hardwired for negativity, it is possible to purposely practice joy and change our own mindset when we practice. As Viktor Frankl noted, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
We can intentionally practice joy by savouring, offering service and living in gratitude.
Negative incidents stay with us more readily than positive ones. If you have 99 positive or neutral experiences with dogs and then suddenly, one day, a dog bites you, what are you likely to remember the next time you see a dog? Our brains are hardwired to keep us safe, so we’re going to be leery of dogs, at least in the short term. Dr. Rick Hanson says, “Our brains are Velcro for the negative experiences and Teflon for the positive”. So in order for those “wow!” moments of joy to change our brains, we have to savour them. As Hanson says, we have to “install” them by savouring those positive emotions for 15-30 seconds to allow time for the joy of those moments to truly be appreciated
We can all intentionally choose joy by offering service. This doesn’t have to be a philanthropic action that makes headlines. It can be a simple smile to a stranger, letting someone into traffic or bringing someone a cup of tea. Studies have shown that those individuals who make a conscious effort to serve as part of their lives, have a higher concentration of antibodies and a lower degree of inflammation in their bodies. It literally can make us physically healthier.
Simply pausing and remembering with gratitude the many simple blessings of our day can bring joy. Even if we face difficult personal suffering in this moment, we are still residents of this wonderful country. We each have a roof over our head at the end of the day, food to eat and human connections to enjoy.
Savouring, Service and Gratitude. Practices that we can use to purposely gladden our minds and our hearts.
This project of intentionally choosing to be joyful and trying to do so even in the face of a world with problems daunting enough to give the strongest and wisest among us pause, does not simply serve our own needs. For when we are messengers of joy, we can work and act from a place of ease and calm, much better able to accept what arises and to roll with the punches, knowing that we can feel steadied again and again by our practice of joy. When we can face our own troubles with equanimity and acceptance, we are better able to deal with the problems facing the wider world. By simply paying attention to the wonders of this great earth and those beloved companions who accompany us for our brief time on the stage, we can bring our contagious contentment to a world that sorely needs our help.
As the renowned and beloved poet Mary Oliver, recently deceased, said,
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?
