I’m inclined to agree with Bukowski in blaming Disney (with all that “happy, happy, happy”) for America’s problems. Or even the world’s. Not that I’d agree with his solution for escaping them, meaning cigarettes and the bottle or a barroom brawl and violent sex.
You see, I’m uneasy when it comes to “happiness” as a goal or a life’s purpose. There’s too much suffering and oppression around us, after all, and no spiritual unity with the universe can exist by denying that. Still, that’s not to argue we need to be pulled under with its negative impact.
As for “fun”? I see that as a self-defeating destination. Its flipside, we should note, is boredom.
Joy, however, is another matter. It’s central to the message of Jesus, as the 16th chapter of John makes clear.
To that we could add bliss or contentment, not in the sense of denying the upheavals and evil of the world but rather in the dimension of accepting a personal inner peace that allows one to labor in furthering the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
For me, this means learning to be more loving, and that’s a never ending challenge. It’s quite different from being giddy or depressed or self-centered or even blaming, gee, I was at the beginning of this post.
Oops! Back to Square One, once again.
Jnana's Red Barn 
As ever, you make some great points. Thank you.
There’s a lovely line in Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, in which he describes a character as able to laugh because of his great hope. I wonder about the relationship of learning to hope, to the things you’ve already identified?
It is a lovely line.
Hope, rather than happy, seems to be a wise place to dwell. In it (you can relate this to Scripture), all things become possible.
Isn’t that part of our Advent message?
Do Friends observe Advent? I didn’t know you “do” the liturgical year.
As a group, we don’t. Every day is holy, not just those set aside as such. Still, we live in a larger society and find ourselves influenced by its pressures, especially when children are involved.
In earlier days, Friends did have a subtle liturgical year as they answered each month’s set of queries or gathered for Quarterly and Yearly Meeting sessions — that is, with neighboring bodies of Friends and then the entire region — but as we’ve assimilated, those have lost much of their distinctiveness.
Things also get more complicated when one spouse is a Quaker and the other isn’t, which is the case in our household. So Advent has been a wonderful bridge for us, allowing me some of the “peculiar people” identity while my wife relishes in the sense of expectation and then, in the Twelve Days, a leisurely celebration. It certainly breaks with the larger society’s it-all-ends on Dec. 25 outlook and makes us more aware of those who hold to other traditions — think Chanukah or Eastern Orthodox, for instance.
I can thank one of my best friends, an Episcopal priest, for the probing discussions we had over a liturgical calendar and its observance for opening me to this (much saner) option.
That said, many Friends maintain their own daily spiritual practices — or “preparation” for the week’s meeting for worship — and to have Advent reflections each day fits right into that for more than a few.
So that’s the short answer. Thanks for asking.