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“God and I have become like two giant fat people living together in a tiny boat. We keep bumping into each other and laughing.” - Hafez
One of my favorite things to hear and to witness is a really good laugh. I’m not talking about a snicker, or a snort, but that deep, heaving laughter. You know the type - when you’re laughing so hard you can’t catch your breath and you’re in danger of tumbling out of your chair.
We don’t laugh like that enough. And I get it, but only a little bit. We’re busy, I know. All of us. We have a million things to do, or at least it feels like we’ve got a million things to do. Many of us are trying to figure out what it is we want in life, and how we want it, and where we get it. We’re trying to figure out what brings us meaning, what brings us fulfillment. Those things are heavy on their own, taking up a lot of our time and energy. But add all that to the saturation of news from around the world and we can feel somewhat helpless, stuck; we can't send aid fast enough, we can’t turn down the hurricane, or grow the crops or stop the bombs fast enough. The times we’re living in are rife with busyness, and with individualism, and all of this takes on the stern face of being overly serious.
In such a time, the value of joy and of laughter ought not be overlooked. Not only does it break us from the mold of seriousness we so often live in, but it reminds us that the weight of the world does not fall on my shoulders alone. Don’t get me wrong; there are, of course, times to be solemn and times to be contemplative and times to be serious. Certainly. But those should only be small pieces of a much greater adventure.
Back when I was in seminary, studying to be a priest, I was going through a particularly rough patch, looking for some type of guidance, and stuck way too far inside my own head. A good friend sent me two pieces written by a 14th century Persian poet by the name of Hafez. She included a small note - “Don’t forget to find your laughter.”
Don’t forget to find your laughter. In all your busyness, don’t forget to discover and rediscover your joy. Find the time for the quiet whispers of the Spirit, all while taking the time to find the great joy and laughter in God and one another.
“Every child has known God, Not the God of names, Not the God of don’ts,
Not the God who ever does anything weird, But the God who knows only four words. And keeps repeating them, saying: Come, Dance with Me, come dance.”
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