Delight

Dear Friends,

I’ve been thinking lately about the experience of delight.

I remember the first time I flew on a plane — the sheer wonder of it all. The size of the aircraft, the feeling of being above the clouds, the miracle of crossing the country in half a day.

Now, if the plane is thirty minutes late or there’s no Wi-Fi, we can easily lose it. “How could this be happening? Are you serious? There is really no Wi-Fi!?”

I also remember when the main way to hear a song was on the radio. There were tapes and records, of course, but the greatest delight was when a DJ unexpectedly played my favorite song.

Someone would yell, “The song is playing now!” And we would rush over to hear it.

Now that I can listen to pretty much any song, anytime, anywhere, some of the delight fades.

Making Space for Delight

Part of delight seems to come from not having, then having, and then waiting again.

It’s not from keeping our favorite song on auto-repeat. There is space, uncertainty, magic, the mystery of life.

When we wake each day, are we delighted that we have eyes to see, legs to walk (if we do), or a heart that beats on its own? Or is the mind already caught up in everything else?

Children are such teachers in this way. They tend live in wonder — thrilled by finding an earthworm in the soil or a noticing a bug in the house to investigate. I miss this quality!

My Wish

So my wish is that today we have some moments of delight — not because anything especially noteworthy or exciting or “amazing” happens in the external world (though that is fine too), but because we see life, at least for a few moments, with eyes of wonder and delight.

With warmth,
SOREN