(not necessarily in that order)
I saw this beautiful photo, accompanied by the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, in a post from a Facebook group (Rumi and Spiritual quotes).
“The earth laughs in flowers.”
This lovely imagery immediately brought to my mind these lyrics from Swami Kriyananda’s song, “There’s Joy in the Heavens.”
“…the flowers are all laughing to welcome the morning; your soul is as free as the air!”
We had an all community meeting at Ananda Village last night. As usual we started with a couple of songs, one of which was The Secret of Laughter.
I’ve sung this song hundreds of times over the years, but last night I experienced — yet again — how much depth there is in these apparently lighthearted and fun lyrics!
In fact, I discovered how The Secret of Laughter pretty much covers everything I’m learning as I move through treatments for cancer: mainly the importance of laughing, giving, and especially singing.
I found so much meaning in the final verse last night:
Sing when the sun shines, sing when the rain falls,
Sing when your road seems strange.
In a tempest, seize the lightning flash,
And ride the winds of change!
We’ve certainly been traveling a pretty strange road lately, with lots of changes still ahead. But we’re managing to keep singing and laughing, and we’re finding joy everywhere.
LYRICS: The Secret of Laughter
The secret of laughter lies in the laughing,
Not in the search for joy:
It’s a swallow winging on the wind!
It’s innocence in a boy.
CHORUS
Luru luru lero,
Luru luru lye!
Joy will come to anyone
Whose heart has learned to fly!
Joy in the singing, not in the song sung,
Welcome, but never crave:
If you think that laughter lies in things,
To things you’ll be but a slave!
CHORUS
Joy in the giving, not in the gaining:
Grasp, and you’ll never sing—
You could win the world and still be poor;
Win peace, and live like a king!
CHORUS
Sing when the sun shines, sing when the rain falls,
Sing when your road seems strange.
In a tempest, seize the lightning flash,
And ride the winds of change!
CHORUS
Nayaswami Bharat gave a wonderfully inspiring talk this morning. At one point he shared about the palpable aura of love he felt in nature while hiking in a remote mountain valley, and it brought to my mind a somewhat similar experience I had many years ago.
Of course, the location was the opposite of remote! I was living in San Francisco; a basically cheerful and optimistic twenty-something student at San Francisco State University, finishing up my undergraduate degree in flute performance. Certainly I had my share of normal young adult angst, but hey! I was living in the city I loved; I was immersed in the music I loved; and I was more or less high on life.
One of the best things about living in The City was that it was absolutely fantastic for walking. I spent hours a day walking on Ocean Beach and through various neighborhoods, enjoying the moderate temperatures, the mystical fog, and the beautiful flowers and trees everywhere.
On this particular day, I was walking through the SFSU campus, enjoying the sunshine, and feeling good, when I remember being literally stopped in my tracks by a bunch of flowers.
I mean, they were just part of the campus landscaping, but something about them was so, well, vivid…! They were beyond beautiful, beyond “alive.” I just stood there for a while, marveling, and wondering.
Then I went on about my day, but it stayed with me. To the point where even now — close to forty years later — I can practically see those flowers — and feel that feeling — again. In fact, I believe I caught a glimpse of the truth expressed in this verse from one of Swami Kriyananda’s songs:
There’s joy in the heavens,
A smile on the mountains,
And melody sings everywhere.
The flowers are all laughing
To welcome the morning;
Your soul is as free as the air.
Yes, I believe I had the good karma in that moment to (somehow!) open up and receive the joyous consciousness of those flowers. What a blessing.