Healing the World through Joy

The world is meant to be celebrated. Not that one would get that message during this political season when many of the candidates vehemently insist the the country is going to hell in a hand basket unless we elect them. They believe they can swoop in and save the day. They believe that our situation in this country is abysmal.

But there is another story circulating in America, and I like it much better. 106-year-old Virginia McLaurin got to fulfill her dream of visiting the White House and meeting President Obama and the First Lady. And they danced! A visit filled with joy and dreams come true! An opportunity to be celebrated!

Virginia McLaurin beamed as she spoke, “I thought I would never live to get in the White House. And I tell you, I am so happy. A black president! A black wife! And I’m here to celebrate black history. Yeah, that’s what I’m here for.”

So I’m for healing the world through joy, as Terry Tempest Williams writes:

Once upon a time,
When women were birds,
There was the simple understanding
That to sing at dawn
And to sing at dusk
Was to heal the world through joy.
The birds still remember what we have forgotten,
That the world is meant to be celebrated.