He who binds to himself a joy,
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise.
William Blake
I was out to dinner last night with a dear friend of mine, and we got on the subject of Pain and Suffering, my apologies to my friend! The idea of Joy came up and of course, the wanting to have it in our lives every day, as if that was even possible. The quote, above, once again came to mind and we discussed it in full, so I thought that I would expound my thoughts pertaining to this most beautiful sonnet.
I see it like this:
I have many beautiful birds in my backyard, and they bring me great joy to listen to them. They have grown in numbers, sounds, squawks, and hoots. Whatever time they enter my world, be it at the first light of day or the last, they bring to me a smile from deep within and the feeling of oneness with all of the world.
They are a blessing and reminder that magic is available to us whenever we choose it to be.
So…. Let’s look at the first verse of this poem; “He who binds to himself a joy, Does the winged life destroy”
It's easy to imagine the birds as the symbology behind these words, but this for me is all things that bring us joy, our children, loved ones, family, lovers, friends, work, and anything in life itself. But let’s stay with the beautiful birds that visit me so very often.
If on occasion I were to be afraid that they would not come back, and people and clients of mine have found it symbolic that I am surrounded by such beauty and life, this might bring joy to me as well, and say that I was afraid that they would stop coming to my yard, that I wanted them always to show everyone how special my yard is, and how these birds love me. I may also want to keep the joy they bring to me for myself, as they must want the same? Isn't that why they always come back? So perhaps I purchase some beautiful bird cages, cages made for the kings and queens of the bird world, and I capture all the birds and place them in this beautiful cage, give them all the food they could never imagine, adorn them with as much beauty as I can fathom, love them completely and forever. Wouldn't that be a great thing?
Until the birds slowly began to die, die of sadness and the lack of freedom, freedom to choose and freedom to soar and freedom to live and freedom to die, freedom to be one of God’s creations, and freedom to bless me with their musical lives whenever they choose, and freedom never to come back to my home again.
The fear of loss brings so much pain to us, steals our lives from us and we may never understand that what we call love, may be the opposite.
I think that we can all see how this possession of joy can very well destroy it. Let us ponder on our relationships with our loved ones and see if there is any truth in this form of “love”, this form of fear?
On the other hand, have you been on the receiving side of this kind of love? That someone thought they loved you so much they would not let you live, or have friends, dress as you wished, worked as you wished, was jealous and possessive and would want you to only enjoy them and only have them in your lives? Something as well to ponder.
Let's look at the next verse, But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise.
Who has the courage to do this? To love and honor that, to live within the energy of that love and allow it to live in eternity, with or without you?
This is a concept that I am regularly contemplating, and re-contemplating, until I feel I can have joy in my life, be it fleeting or be it long-lasting, without binding to it, without destroying it. I know this because I am also more fearful of having someone do that to me, to steal my life to steal my breath, to put me in a cage so only that person can watch as I slowly diminish and die until they wonder what in the world was so special about me, to begin with, until they throw me away.
He who binds to himself a joy,
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise.
William Blake
Let Go and Let God! Life is as magical as you dare it to be!
Namaste