Month by Month Reflections for the Year of Joy.
Nine Goddesses to Nurture Nine Steps on the Path of Joy
This Year of Joy calendar gathers nine steps along the Path of Joy into nine months, composed of four ten-day weeks. The weeks invite you to explore joy through each of the four elements: earth, water, fire, and air, which can be experienced as metaphors – the fires of passion, for example, or the tears of sorrow – as well as richly concrete in themselves. The nine months, 360 days, come to an end on December 26, leaving five intercalary days before the Year for Joy begins again on January 1.
CLICK ON THE IMAGES OR TITLES below to read the full month’s reflection.
Joy in the World The Month for Joyful Remembrance August 29 – October 7 There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; Pray you, Love, remember. Ophelia in true Shakespearean fashion distributes herbs and flowers to the characters onstage with her during the dramatic and poignant moments of her madness. One of her fears is the all-too-heartbreaking […]
Joy in the World July 20 – August 28 The Month of Joyful Dedication The Way It Is By William Stafford There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread. But it is […]
Practicing Joy in the World June 10-July 19 The Month of Joyful Presence O friend, understand the body is like the ocean rich with hidden treasures. Open your inmost chamber and light its lamp. —Mirabai, translated by Jane Hirshfield Mirabai, mystic, singer, dancer, celebrant of the Divine Beloved, guides us through these days, teaching […]
Practicing Joy in the WorldMay 1 – June 9 The Month for Joyful Acceptance and Acknowledgement From “Welcome Morning” So while I think of it Let me paint a thank you on my palm For this God, this laughter of the morning Lest it go unspoken. The Joy that isn’t shared, I’ve heard, dies […]
Practicing Joy in the WorldMarch 22 – April 30 The Month for Joyful Awareness Singing Image of FireA hand moves, and the fire’s whirling takes different shapes:All things change when we do.The first word, “Ah,” blossoms into all othersEach of them is true.—Kukai, translated by Jane Hirschfield, quoted in The Enlightened Heart by Stephen Mitchell […]
Practicing Joy in the WorldFebruary 10 – March 21 The Month for Clarifying Beliefs about Joy “Who made the world?”asks Mary Oliver, in her poem “The Summer Day.” She is our guide to all the work of 2019, work entitled “Bliss, the Outer Reaches of Inner Joy.” In her poem, the poet goes on to […]
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The Outer Reaches of Inner Joy A suggestion for Month One,The Month for Joyful Sourcing and Re-sourcingJanuary 1 – February 9 Bliss as we dive for it, this year is an ebullient state: Mindful, Active, Spacious, Compassionate, Untamable, Fiercely Alive, And completely embodied. This first month for Sourcing and Re-sourcing provides time to focus on […]
For those who follow the Goddess Year of Joy (nine months of forty days each), the final five days of every year are devoted to celebrating the birthdays of divine bringers of joy. These so-called intercalary days between December 27 and 31 provide a time to honor our capacity for constant renewal. And bring in […]
Practicing Joy in the World November 17 – December 26 Shakespeare reminds us that the potency of this month of Joyful Service and Sharing dwells in activating, re-activating, claiming, and reclaiming friendships. The joy of that activation stirs the soul and sends us out as messengers of delight to bestow friendship toward others in […]