Creating joy
(Nimue)
Life can be grim and challenging. Between the cost of living, the state of the environment and the horrors of war, joy does not show up automatically. However, when we work together to create joy for each other, it’s possible to do all kinds of good things.
The photo I’ve shared is of Keith and myself at a recent fairy event in Gloucester. It was good fun dressing up and there was much to enjoy in the colourful costumes other attendees had put together, and in the creative sharing that dominated the weekend. We contributed music to the event, which went really well.
Joy is necessary for life. Creating joyful spaces is vital for good mental health, and to give people the hope and the energy to tackle the serious issues. This is a significant part of my work, and what I feel I am here to do. Joyful community spaces are empowering, and lift people up and help them cope, and act. I’ve seen a lot of that in action over the weekend. Joyful space is nurturing and restorative.
The events I’m involved with are free to attend in the day, which makes them inclusive. People who are struggling don’t have to pay to be in the room. That’s really important to me. Watching kids enjoying the space, seeing parents having fun with it. Having people of all ages come along and join in, making safe space for people who otherwise out at the fringes – this all matters to me.
Being with Keith has taught me a lot about the process of co-creating joy. It’s in how we support and uplift each other, how we encourage each other and give each other permission to be daring and adventurous. We make more room for joy when we take delight in each other, and enjoy sharing time together. This is true of any human interaction. We also make more room for joy when we hold each other through the tough things and make room for dealing with life’s challenges. There was a lot of that too, over the weekend. Where there is mutual care and support there is real community.
Right now joy seems like a radical choice. It is a form of resistance. Making joy is an answer to austerity, to the hard grind that so many people face. We can meet poverty with efforts to uplift and overcome. We can support good things. These fairy events help raise money to keep The Folk of Gloucester open – it’s a wonderful building, a piece of history and heritage. Keeping it open, viable and available is important to me. Austerity threatens so much of our culture, so much of real worth is at risk right now. There are some serious consequences to doing these ‘silly’, joyous things.
