And so I begin. To rejoice.

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re·joice

 verb \ri-ˈjȯis\

re·joiced  re·joic·ing

transitive verb

: to give joy to : gladden
intransitive verb
: to feel joy or great delight
— re·joic·er noun
— re·joic·ing·ly  adverb

— rejoice in

Origin of REJOICE

Middle English, from Anglo-French rejois-, stem of rejoier, rejoir, from re- + joir to welcome, enjoy, from Latin gaudēre to be glad — more at joy

First Known Use: 14th century

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It is not an old word, this word Rejoice. Just a mere 7 centuries in the making. Perhaps, life was too hard to consider the possibility of rejoicing in life prior to the 14th Century. Perhaps the “Calamitous 14th Century” as historian and author Barbara Tuchman calls it in her book, Distant Mirror, had no room for joy. It was the century of the “Little Ice Age”. A time where glaciers advanced and crops failed. A time of massive deaths by the plague. It was the era of the 100 Years War. The beginning of a time when witches became the hunted. A time that lead to the beginning of the Renaissance. It is perhaps in those early days of the Renaissance that humankind became conscious of the need to give thanks, to celebrate, to be glad for life, for living beyond the darkness of a ‘calamitous’ century.

Whatever its origins, I am grateful for the presence of the word in our language. Rejoice. It is guiding me this year.

There is much for me to learn about rejoicing in life, in me, in being here one arth. It feels… kind of  illicit, rebellious almost, no, make that a lot rebellious.

It must be the Catholicism of my early childhood haunting me. That memory synapse connecting past events to the present that would have me believe back then is all I need to be safe in the here and now.  ‘ Back then’  holds onto the belief that celebrating me, life, my light in the world is wrong. It’s vain. Proud. The inner voice, ‘the critter’ whispers sibilantly. “Don’t you get too big for your britches there girlie. You don’t want people to think you think you’re so smart. So better than everyone else. You don’t want people to think you’re conceited now do you. They won’t like you!”

And I breathe.

The critter is not my friend. He only speaks from fear, from that place of believing change is deadly. He doesn’t do it out of wanting to hurt me, he does it because he’s scared I might get hurt if I don’t stay still, and small, and really, really quiet.

And I breathe. Deeply. Breathe into that place where my heart knows, I am born to celebrate my presence here on earth. We all are. For in our celebration, we create a world of difference. We create a world of wonder and awe that shimmers in the light of our magnificence illuminating the path for all to follow into the beauty of their own brilliance shining bright.

Celebrating who I am in the world is loving. Of me. Of others. Of the world around me.

And I wonder…

What does celebrating me, life, being here, look like? How does it feel? How do I breathe into rejoicing all that is magnificent and holy and wondrous about being alive?

How do I rejoice?

I begin where I’m at.

I begin how I am.

I begin. Right now.

It is a simple statement of joy. A practising of rejoicing. A welcoming-in of gratitude, humility, thankfulness, Love.

Today, to rejoice, I give a prayer of thanks for being me, exactly the way I am, in all my beauty and the beast. In all my yin and yang. Inside out and outside in. Upside down and right side up. Backwards and forwards.

I give thanks for all that I have done. Good. Bad. Indifferent. Whatever label my mind has applied to judge what I have done, achieved, created, been in the world, I give thanks for it all. At the time of my doing, it was my best. At the time of my being, it was the best that I could be.

And a chant I recall from years ago drifts into my awareness.

I walk in beauty now
beauty lies before me

beauty lies above me, behind and below me.

And so it begins. This year of breathing into and becoming conscious of the power of the word “Rejoice”.

And so it begins.

I invite you to journey with me as I explore what it means to rejoice, to give thanks for being who I am, who you are, who we become together when we celebrate our presence in the world as the gift we were born to unwrap and present for all the world to see and know and delight in.

Namaste.

20 thoughts on “And so I begin. To rejoice.”

  2. This is the day the Lord has made…

    Epiphany is my word for 2013. I am excited to see God revealed in new ways as the year unfolds.

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    • Hello lovely Thelma! So lovely to see you. Keeping ‘at the time of doing’ in my mind and knowing it was at the time, my best, has helped me let go of having to do it ‘perfectly’. So glad it resonates for you too. Hugs

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  7. What a great theme! And something that I resonate with this year as well. I have written about the theme/focus of my year, but something just doesn’t feel right. I haven’t found THE word. Last year it was bliss, but this year it’s more like a bunch of phrases. I am gonna try to meditate on it some… and let the words arise from my soul. I suppose I must be patient. Peace to you.

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    • I know what you mean Liz — I vacillated between several words but Rejoice kept coming clearer — and the fact I had/have some resistance to it speaks loudly for me!

      Peace to you. happy new Year

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      • I don’t have anything coming to me. I’m not feeling anything except that it is a word that implies action and enjoyment of life. Happy Rejoicing Year!

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  8. Thank you for sharing your “Year” so freely and openly, for all the world to see. There is a certain joy in knowing one’s truth! This is what stands out to me in your TedXCalgary presentation – for it was that enduring connection to your truth that may have kept you going. A year/lifetime of rejoicing sounds like a darned good plan for 2013.

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  10. I LOVE this word! And all that it encompasses. In good weather and in bad–both of which come out of our own perception. To see ourselves as God’s gift to present to others in all humility…oh, I can’t wait to see where this takes you.

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