ECLECTIC JOY! (Post 180)
January 19, 2026
The reflections on a day well spent furnish us with joys more pleasing than ten thousand triumphs.
Thomas a Kempis
Real joy comes from doing something worthwhile.
Sir Wilfred Grenfell
Dueling statements? Possibly. However, if a day well spent is interpreted only as something worthwhile, there seems to be more of a complimentary connection.
Taking another look though, the first quote’s reference to plural reflections potentially widens the perimeters of joy. Such multiple reflections, cast over time, can provide a deepening sense of joy. Indeed, some of those ten thousand triumphs – when related OR serving as connecting links to other joys – may very well expand the boundaries of a given joy to limitless!
For example, as a child, I recall the simple joy I felt on the annual visits to my aunt’s home. Listening to Mother and her sister’s chatting and laughing together in the cozy kitchen was simply comforting and pleasant. Many, many decades later, those memories still prompt joy for me, now layered with my mom’s written recollections of their mother’s pleasant demeaner, sense of humor, and always hosting the visiting pastors in the remote high mountains of Appalachia. Even experiencing Mother’s gentle application of soothing salve to the dry lips of her dying, comatose sister is woven into the deep joy that comes in my recalling those earlier times.
This past month, I posed the question, In the years to come, what would you want for your life? A number of replies came forth … and to my query, I said joy, thus ushering in a deeper conversation. What is joy? What is it not? Where does joy come from? What are the impediments to joy? Are there limits to joy? Is joy happiness? Are there other components of joy? Why would a person want joy as a top priority in his/her life? How might recovery and joy be related/connected/correlated?
This new year, I want for us to explore the topic of JOY … and yes, there will be connections of JOY to and with RECOVERY. Moreover, the term (as in the title of this Post) Eclectic Joy points to the multi-faceted nature and depths of joy. Joy contains a mixture - and that dimension we will explore.
In addition, each month, I will include a personal experience wherein joy was clear and present. Some of these entries will seem unreal … indeed, true joy abounded within these happenings; and a deep sense of the Divine opened up another reality that would have been hard to believe, otherwise.
I’ll start with a rather ordinary situation from which I experienced JOY. Last summer was not an easy time for me. I was recovering from hip replacement and doing well during the winter and spring. In fact, I was feeling my strength returning so consistently I decided that it was time to clean out the garage. Oh, oh … I’m hearing you say already.
What I was not prepared for was the VERY hot (and very muggy) weather for three months. Then too, between each lengthy hot spell, the thunderstorms came – allowing no use of outdoor space for my work! Also, what I underestimated was the AMOUNT of work to be done! Of course, I should have calculated more realistically since I could not even walk through the tightly stacked STUFF from the front to the back of the garage. By early July, I had experienced an ocular migraine; and two weeks later, vertigo spells came in the early mornings and later evenings. With the help of excellent PT treatments, I was able to continue my garage processing – but at a much, much slower pace.
At this point, my project is about 90 % finished. Last week, I wanted to find a couple of items that I knew had to be out in the garage. I started walking all around the remaining boxes and crates in my search. Unsuccessful after two rounds, I stood looking at everything remaining on the floor. What I experienced was initially surprising. Ordinarily, I would have been frustrated. Instead, a sense of achievement and awe came over me. To see all the work already accomplished, and then to recall the wonderful help from family and friends, and then to remember that by August, I could only work for five-minute intervals at a time, but then my thoughts went back to September when my energy started returning!
That’s when the JOY welled up within me, knowing that this amount of work, could not ordinarily be accomplished, thus far, without human and Divine help! Instead of self-chastising thoughts about the still unfinished project, I kept thinking how awesome the garage looks already with so much of the processing completed – and under those circumstances! Such layers of events and help all mixed together! What JOY! PTL!!!
Blessings,
Rev. Janet Jacobs, CCGSO
Founding Director
Gambling Recovery Ministries
855-926-0761
For more information on the IPGGC Clergy/Lay Minister Certification visit:
www.IPGGC.org NOTE: new web address!
International Problem Gambling and Gaming Certification Organization
For more information on gambling disorder and recovery issues, go to:
www.indianaproblemgambling.org
www.masscompulsivegambling.org