Joy

"One key of knowing joy is being easily pleased.  There is profound innocence in the fact that sages and children alike are easily pleased with what each day gifts them."  Mark Nepo

I had a recent adventure.  Somehow my furnace got kicked off in the midst of a very cold period, and pipes froze.  A dear friend said she liked how "calm" I was about it.  To be honest, I did not find joy in the experience, but I was very calm; I got the furnace going, called friend to recommend a plumber when I could not get one to answer my phone calls, stayed overnight with another friend as the house was too cold to sleep in, and spent the next day cleaning up the resultant mess.  Life is too short to be hysterical about mishaps.  Whenever I fly somewhere and there is a change or delay, it is instructive for me to watch how people respond.  It ranges from knee-jerk reactions to blow-ups to complacency.  It seems an optimal response to mishaps is somewhere in between those reactions, and that is:  assess the situation, correct what you can, and accept what you cannot correct or change.  I could not change the fact that my furnace had stopped working, but I could contain further damage by taking appropriate action.   It would be a stretch to say I found joy in any of this, but I did find gratitude.  It could have been so much worse:  my furnace could have permanently stopped, and I could have had more damage.  I am grateful that there was so little damage, that there was a competent plumber who came promptly the next day, and that I had friends to support me and shelter me.  Gifts among the mishap.