Joy: August 2023
We first met Dirk back in 2009 at a local animal shelter on the island of Saipan. He stood out because of his height and color. He towered above the rest, the only one with a white-yellow coat in a litter of black and brown German-Shepherd-looking pups. He wasn’t our first pick but one of the staff suggested we adopt him. “He has a nice personality,” she said. He just seemed awkward to me. One of his ears stood up while the other flopped down. Though he was larger than the others, he never acted like the alpha male. Despite any first impressions we may have had, we decided to take the lady’s advice and adopt him. We’ll always be grateful to her for leading us to Dirk. He turned out to be the most joyful and loving soul we’ve ever known.
Often a handful of well-known people are held up as teachers of joy—people we may never meet but whose teachings reach us through popular media. Then there are sentient beings like Dirk, who the masses never knew but who embodied joy and love every day. He passed away unexpectedly two years ago in July at the age of 12. “What have animals taught me about living joyfully?” is a question I came across in gathering resources for this newsletter. Dirk taught us about the joy of the simple things, enjoying the warmth of the sun on your face and cuddling with loved ones. He lived in the present moment and always invited us into it. Who or what comes to mind when you contemplate joy?
Here are some resources for digging deeper into joy this month:
Just for fun: NPR’s Joy Generator with slideshows of baby animals and outer space.