{"id":1083,"date":"2019-10-18T10:30:12","date_gmt":"2019-10-18T15:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/ordinarymystic\/?p=1083"},"modified":"2019-10-18T13:41:51","modified_gmt":"2019-10-18T18:41:51","slug":"joy-and-justice-belong-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ordinarymystic\/2019\/10\/joy-and-justice-belong-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Joy and Justice Belong Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Joy and justice, on the surface, do not seem to go together. Sometimes we might even associate social justice with joylessness<\/em>. We may have met someone who was an activist for this or that cause, and they didn\u2019t seem happy. Or maybe we <\/em>were, or are, that person. Despite our best intentions to do our part to create a better world, we are not happy. We tell ourselves, usually unconsciously, that all it takes is a fierce commitment, mixed with a dash of dogged masochism, to grit our teeth, keep fighting, and overcome all odds.<\/p>\n

The social justice dimensions of Jesus\u2019 message galvanized my life because in part I perceived that God expected it and that it was what I should <\/em>do. I\u2019ve written about this at Sojourners.<\/a> I perceived that justice for the poor, the immigrant, the person of color, and the LGBTQ person was connected with what I should <\/em>do in the world and God\u2019s expectations of me. And it is.<\/p>\n

As I worked in Boston non-profits, though, first on campaigns battling corporate injustice, such as taking on Philip Morris and the tobacco industry, Coca-Cola and the sugar lobby, and then with Boston\u2019s homeless population, I became deeply unhappy. My inner voice was relentless. It told me how the world should be and how God expected me to live. There was always more to do. If I didn\u2019t do more, be more, commit more, my faith, I told myself, would be lacking. And my faith always was lacking.<\/p>\n

Things are changing, I\u2019m delighted to say, not only within myself but also within social movements. Of course, that type of justice righteousness, which is the shadow side of dedicated moral passion, is still rampant. Self-shaming and people-shaming for their lack of commitment to the cause is in a bit of ascendancy on the left. But what is also ascendant in social movements is an abiding joy or \u201cpleasure activism,\u201d to use a phrase by a writer and activist named adrienne maree brown. Pleasure activism, she writes,<\/a> is \u201cthe work we do to reclaim our whole, satisfiable selves from the impacts, delusions, and limitations of oppression and supremacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

""<\/p>\n

Here is a picture, perhaps, of what maree brown means, from the direct action group Extinction Rebellion:<\/a> as protesters blockaded Westminster Bridge in London, to call attention to the global climate state of emergency, they did yoga, danced, dressed in costumes, listened to a brass band, waved colorful posters and streamers, welcomed their kids, and one couple even got married. These tactics of direct action may or may not be palatable to us, but the passion for justice and joy is undeniable.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve noticed a skepticism of joy, though, in my white, progressive Christian world. We are really <\/em>attached to our joylessness. How dare we, or how can <\/em>we, be joyful, when there is so much to worry about, so much to do, so much going wrong in our world, our lives, and in America? Jesus said, though: \u201cWho of you can add an hour to your life by worrying?\u201d We\u2019d do well also to heed Wendell Berry\u2019s advice to \u201cbe joyful, even though we\u2019ve considered all the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n

adrienne maree brown reclaims joy itself as resistance to injustice. Here are her \u201cPleasure Principles,\u201d from her book\u00a0Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

1) What you pay attention to grows. Tune into happiness, what satisfies you, what brings you joy.<\/p>\n

2) We become what we practice.<\/p>\n

3) Yes is the way.<\/p>\n

4) When I am happy, it is good for the world.<\/p>\n

5) The deepest pleasure comes from riding the line between commitment and detachment. Commit yourself fully to the process, the journey, to bringing the best you can bring. Detach yourself from ego and outcomes.<\/p>\n

6) Make justice and liberation feel good.<\/p>\n

7) Your no makes the way for your yes. Boundaries create the container within which your yes is authentic.<\/p>\n

8) Moderation is key. The idea is not to be in a heady state of ecstasy at all times, but rather to learn how to sense <\/em>when something is good for you, to be able to feel what enough<\/em> is.<\/p>\n

Photo by<\/strong>\u00a0Tim Mossholder<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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