Dear Ones,

Oh my goodness, friends. I’m finding it both really hard and really necessary to reflect on this month’s theme, living love through the practice of joy. It’s hard because, well, just look around! How can we practice joy when the systems of care and support that have been crucial for so many people in our country are being broken so quickly and cruelly? There are days I forget that joy is even possible. And. If we lose joy, they’ve won. Those people who want to erase the lives of Black and Brown people, of queer and trans people, of disabled people, of people who need tangible support to live – those people cannot win. Even when joy feels impossible, I cannot let them win. And so I practice finding and making joy.

On Sunday morning I bathed in the fierce love of this community, and then I ordered takeout from Ahan and ate it with good company and a glass of really good wine. On Monday I took Marvel to the dog park and watched her do zoomies; and then I cooked a delicious quiche from eggs from a friend who keeps chickens, and I danced in my kitchen to the music I was playing to keep me company. Last night I made time to go out with a new friend who makes me laugh – and I make him laugh. We can, even now, be agents of joy. Did you see the look on Senator Cory Booker’s face when he was told his speech beat Strom Thurmond’s filibuster time? The applause and the pride and how much they moved Sen. Booker gave me joy. They gave me LIFE.

Joy gives us life. Joy is power, and fuel for resistance. There are so many ways, big and small, that we can practice finding and making joy – and the more of them we engage in, the harder we become to squash. Let’s keep being hard to squash – together. In faith and love, Karen

[April 2, 2025]