Im a writer, therefore must write. The opportunity came up for me to contribute to this issue of Voice of Choices. Kathy, the caretaker of the magazine simply stated, Give me a couple hundred words on Joy!

Yes, Joy! with a Capital J and an exclamation point.

Damn! I cant tell you how many rejections Ive gotten on articles Ive written about one-word topics that begin with a Capital and end in an exclamation point! (Lets see if this gets through, he said with a wink!)

Why? Because I have a tendency to see whatever Im assigned as part of a bigger whole, and that ALWAYS carries with it its opposite. I'm also doomed to tell the truth of what I see, and editors looking for the Capital and Exclamation point thing usually have wide smiles on their faces and expect to get that back from me. I don't exactly frown but my expansive eyebrows arch ominously as I ponder.

Without an opposite, whatever it is simply could not be. And I tend to honor the sacredness of that relationship. Truth is, Ive never known it to be any different.

Take Joy! for example. Where and when is Joy! most apparent? We all know the answer; on the heels of some form of despair. And its a little d for despair and absolutely no need for an exclamation point because on its own, it doesnt need the emphasis; that word is crushing and debilitating enough as it is.

Joy! however, IS about uplift, about rising to heights that eclipse the depths of whatever despair can dig down to. Not only that, but the essence of joy is Joy! It is what it is and transcends Everything.

And yes, it is most powerful when it stands on the head of despair to reach its heights.

In my opinion, even while doing that, it retains its softness and respect and love for that which it vanquishes, because the essence of it leaves room for nothing else.

And thats what I have to say about Joy!