Joyous Gard: Daily Guide Archives and Text
May 2007 ~ Day 1 Knowledge
We Americans love to see immediate results. We love fast food because it’s – well, fast. We want quick results from exercise and diet. We take power (quick) naps, and we expect our photographs to be developed in under an hour. We’re thirsty. We’re impatient.
I love knowledge that resists “speed learning,” knowledge that one gains only by living a full life. I love the memories and connections that make up the fabric of a mind having lived. I love also the type of knowledge that can be had only by digging and thinking, that which is gathered not from books but rather discovered by the interested mind.
Day 1 Guide
Take your time. Be patient. Look for similarities and differences. Ask yourself questions. Reawaken those desires that once had you flying.
© 2007, Levi Hill
Joyous Gard: Daily Guide Archives and Text
May 2007 ~ Day 2 Growth
“…I am sure that there are many people who, looking back at their youth, are conscious that they had something stirring and throbbing within them which they have somehow lost; some vision, some hope, some faint and radiant ideal.”
-- Growth, Joyous Gard
An image, a song, a sense of space, an aroma, a story – these are the things that for me open the doors to Joyous Gard. They evoke memories that please my spirit and give me energy to face the more common fears of this present life. And in the penumbra of my looking back I sometimes sense an old motivation, a familiar desire, or a passion I thought lost. I’m made to feel alive and wanting, youthful. O, to have those thoughts stir in me the more.
Day 2 Guide
Discover again those things that would move you, those wonderful thoughts that give you wings to fly. Search the treasures of your experience to find the way to Joyous Gard.
© 2007, Levi Hill
Joyous Gard: Daily Guide Archives and Text
May 2007 ~ Days 3-6 Emotion
We have developed a curious idea of what men and women ought to be; and one of our pretences is that men should affect not to understand sentiment, and to leave, as we rudely say, “all that sort of thing to the women.”
-- Emotion, Joyous Gard
At a conference last week I was pouring a cup of coffee when a girl standing behind me commented: “What beautiful flowers.” I looked up and noticed that she was referring to a vase of fresh-cut flowers standing behind the coffee pots.
“Oh, yes. They are very pretty.” I said. “But I’ll have to admit that without your saying something, I would’ve hardly noticed. I like that about girls. Y’all see the flowers.”
Days 3-6 Guide
Today, direct your mind to see the many things around you. It’s easy to get tangled up in your own thoughts and miss the flowers.
© 2007, Levi Hill
Joyous Gard: Daily Guide Archives and Text
May 2007 ~ Day 15 Memory
But the poetical nature is the nature that is not easily contented, because it tends to idealisation, to the thought that the present might easily be so much happier, brighter, more beautiful, than it is.
-- Memory, Joyous Gard
On the road again…
Having been out of town for a few days and then back on the road, I was tired. My eyes were heavy, and my brain racked from the constant attention of speeding traffic. I needed a break and a change of mind.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? We all have days that take us hostage and leave few options for recovery. How is it that you restore the spirit? How do you make your way back to Joyous Gard?
The languages of poetry and music are for many people the most direct form of healing. They remind us of experiences pleasing to the soul and help us to recover those grand feelings that may otherwise be buried in the rubble of confusion.
Day 15 Guide
Make it your habit to arouse memories by listening. Listen to the music of the wind or of poetry and song. Listen to the sounds of night, the cadence of the crickets, or a distant train horn.
© 2007, Levi Hill
Joyous Gard: Daily Guide Archives and Text
May 2007 ~ Day 31 Retrospect
I used to like most anything that had a motor attached to it. Growing up I had a go-cart. For a while it was fun, but then my interest waned and I moved up to a motorcycle. It was a faster and smoother ride. But then, when I was old enough to get my drivers license, I realized there was no better way to get from point A to point B than in a car. I still have that old, “nearly-new” motorcycle in my basement.
I remember taking guitar lessons. I was really interested for a while, and my parents were nice to surprise me with an awesome red electric guitar. But as was my tendancy I quit taking lessons one summer and never started back. I still have that barely-used guitar in my attic.
After I married I took piano lessons. For six years I went to a once-a-week lesson on my lunch break. I was doing pretty well but eventually slowed down on my practice and quit taking altogether. Oh, I can still play a few songs. But mostly, that upright piano is there in my den for my daughter.
Day 31 Guide
Today take a look at your history in order to discover patterns of broken lines or weak links. Make it your effort to discover the areas in which you should commit resources for improvement.
© 2007, Levi Hill
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