Thursday July 30th, 2009

The exercise:

The prompt today: a recipe for joy.

I'm heading out tomorrow afternoon to spend the long weekend camping with Kat's family and I'll be back on Monday sometime. I'm not going to bother scheduling any posts (since Blogger can't be bothered to fix that little bug) but I'll hopefully have a post for Friday up before I take off.

I'll post Saturday, Sunday, and Monday when I get back. Rest assured that I'll be writing while I'm camping. I hope you all have a great weekend, long or otherwise.

Mine:

A recipe for joy

1. Take one young man.
2. Give this young man a bicycle.
3. Place the young man, along with the bicycle, about a twenty-five minute ride from home.
4. Turn the temperature up to 32 degrees Celsius.
5. Add some humidity, so that it feels more like 40.
6. Allow the young man to bike home.
7. Give said young man a glass of ice-cold water.
8. Repeat step seven until the young man's eyes glaze over and an aura of joy begins to emanate from his entire body (usually two glasses will be sufficient).
9. Enjoy his joy.

3 comments:

g2 (la pianista irlandesa) said...

The Irish Pianist's Guide to the World has this to say on the subject of joy.

Joy can be defined as a sense of fulfilling euphoria gained by carrying out a seemingly-meaningful task. Some people may define this as bliss, but most argue that joy is longer, more satisfying feeling. Some find joy through a particular activity, others through another. In other words, the activity that brings one person joy may not necessarily bring the same sense of joy to another person. But that's not the point. The point is to find an inner euphoria, joy must be catered to its receiver; if it is enjoyed by others then there are simply more joyful people.

Some acheive this joy by one particular method:

Take a pianst, preferably one that's fresh and alert but is feeling particularly indifferent.

Set him or her before a piano; music from his or her repetoire is recommended, as well as a metronome.

Allow the pianist to go through an intense practice session, at least three hours. He or she may take short breaks between bits, but not long enough to lose it.

After the session, allow the pianist to reflect on the practicing, preferably by an open window. If all has gone well, the pianist will realize that the session was difficult, but all that work has gotten him or her that much closer to being greater. A good practice session is not one where everything has gone according to plan, but has struggled a bit. Struggle improves a person, not just pianists.

Once the pianist has made this realization, provide him or her with a refreshing drink, a shady and inviting porch, and (if desired) a good book, to congratulate him or her on a job well done.

Greg said...

What's the long weekend? We don't get a bank holiday now until the end of August, which is the last before Christmas. Which makes me think that the year's going quicker than I'd like....

Recipe for Joy

The storm has broken, the rain has fallen,
And Joy says this makes her glad,
She's standing barefoot in the grass,
And laughing like she's mad,
A gentle wind just stirs her hair,
She smells of eucalyptus,
She's gathered up from off the ground
What must be a duck-billed platypus.
Trees shiver in a stronger wind,
She just shakes her head,
She's far too happy to fear the storm
That's left eleven dead....

Marc said...

g2 - very nicely put :)

Greg - Um, BC Day or something? I don't care, I just take the day off and smile.

I very much like the rhythm of your poem.