{"id":677,"date":"2023-11-13T19:22:59","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T19:22:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rebelrebel.org.uk\/?p=677"},"modified":"2023-11-13T19:23:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T19:23:00","slug":"discovering-delight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rebelrebel.org.uk\/?p=677","title":{"rendered":"Discovering Delight"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mini-Reflection #73 (25th June 2023 at Essex Church \/ Kensington Unitarians)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I settled on \u2018Discovering Delight\u2019 for the title of our service today \u2013 mainly chosen for alliteration purposes, now I come to think of it \u2013 because to talk about \u2018discovering\u2019 delight isn\u2019t quite right. Or at least it doesn\u2019t tell the full story. For me, \u2018Discovering\u2019 suggests unexpectedly tripping over delight, happening upon it, chancing on delight almost accidentally. And of course that does happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the core message of this service \u2013 and the thing I love most about Ross Gay\u2019s approach \u2013 is that he speaks of developing a \u2018delight radar\u2019 and strengthening his \u2018delight muscles\u2019. It\u2019s not a passive process. In making a practice of delight \u2013 committing to noticing one moment of delight each day and writing it down \u2013 he trains himself to become more sensitive to it. His \u2018delight radar\u2019 becomes ever more finely tuned. This makes sense from a neuroplasticity point of view too \u2013 we develop our neural circuits by repeatedly looking out for delightful happenings \u2013 and in time we\u2019ll find them even easier to notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Ross Gay is no Pollyanna \u2013 he sees all too clearly what is wrong in the world \u2013 he does not deny the very real suffering and injustice that is all around him \u2013 but with this practice of delight he does not allow himself to sink into hopelessness and despair about it either. Paying attention to what is good \u2013 what is still good, and delightful, despite everything \u2013 can potentially get us into a virtuous circle. As we notice where our moments of delight are coming from \u2013 the people, the places, the activities \u2013 we can move towards those sources of joy and even make more intentional space for them in our life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we might even choose to see this as an act of defiance, or resistance, against those social and economic forces which seem to squeeze much of the joy out of living for so many of us. For anyone who is struggling to stay afloat, working all hours to make ends meet, holding on to our sources of delight in the face of it all might be seen as a way of asserting our inherent worth and dignity. When we are in tough circumstances it may be that small delights give us the juice to carry on. I\u2019ve put a quote on the order of service today which speaks to that: Rose Kennedy said \u2018Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the take-home message today is a pretty simple one \u2013 in theory at least \u2013 over the coming days I invite you to have a go at tuning your \u2018delight radar\u2019 or building your \u2018delight muscles\u2019. Each day this week, see if you can notice one moment of delight, and write it down (or, even better, share your moment of delight, by telling someone else about it). Ross Gay\u2019s book came to my attention when he was recently interviewed on a favourite podcast, \u2018We Can Do Hard Things\u2019, and the couple who host the show said that they\u2019d got into the habit of saying \u2018Delight!\u2019 to each other, every time one of them encounters a new delight in the wild. It\u2019s become A Thing They Do. That practice of noticing and sharing reinforces an uplifting spiral. Bonus points for noticing delights in as varied a range of settings as possible \u2013 let your delights be both silly and serious \u2013 maybe use your senses and find delights you can see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. And I\u2019d encourage you to share some of your recent delights with each other after the service, over tea and cake, in the chat box on Zoom, or maybe in the congregational WhatsApp group. There\u2019s your challenge \u2013 or your invitation, shall we say \u2013 for the week to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mini-Reflection by Jane Blackall<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An audio recording of this sermon is available:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\nhttps:\/\/www.kensington-unitarians.org.uk\/pod2011\/KU_jane.blackall_hybrid_sermon_25.06.23.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n