Joy – Feelin’ Like a Kid Again

Joy – the emotion of great happiness

Having had to overcome the challenge of paralytic polio at the age of 5, I did not experience the unbridled joy of childhood. I had many physical problems as a result of the polio and childhood abuse which dampened my ability to feel the sense of sheer joy and exhilaration with life’s simple pleasures. But as Tony Robbins says, ‘It’s never too late to have a happy childhood’. I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by joy.

As I write this I have a smile on my face and my spirit is soaring as I reflect on recent events overflowing with joy. School is back in session and we are so blessed to live in a neighborhood where we can see the kids walking home from school with their moms. On the first day of kindergarten, this precious angel comes running up to my daughter and me when she spotted us sitting outside on our lawn. With her beautiful big blue eyes she regaled all the events of her first day of school. She told us about her teacher, had her mom show us her folder and with confidence in who she is as a divine child, she told us how many friends she made and ‘it’s only the first day you know.’ Her smile was infectious as was her sense of joy and wonder and discovery.

This past Saturday I was incredibly blessed to share in the joy of the Cycle for Life event to raise money for the Tufts Childrens Cancer Center. As a volunteer, I kept focusing on good weather, good weather, good weather but it was not meant to be. There were torrential downpour but the weather could not dampen the spirit of the riders.As the cyclists returned from there 25 mile ride,there were expressions of sheer joy and exhilaration. One rider, a three time cancer survivor commented she felt like a kid again; another rider did a ‘dance’ on her bike in the middle of the pouring rain. Everyone was already soaked to the skin so what did it matter if we were all out in the pouring rain? The children who were patients of the Tufts Childrens Cancer Center were relishing their hot dogs at the post ride barbeque seeing scores of bike riders splashing through puddles and wearing smiles of satisfaction on their faces. The pain of the challenges were transformed by the communal sense of joy.

It is so easy to lose the unbridled joy of childhood. As adults we grumble about the weather and heaven forbid we should get wet and splash in the puddles. When is the last time you sang the song, “If all the rain drops were lemon drops and gum drops oh what a joy it would be. I’d stand outside with my mouth open wide. I wouldn’t care if I never went inside….” Why do we get so bogged down by our adult concerns and lose that carefree sense of making angels in the snow or running around in the rain with a sense of reckless abandon? When is the last time you sat your butt down in the sand to make sand castles?

Here’s to everyone feelin’ like a kid again. Here’s to soaking up precious life moments to let the unbridled joy and love flow through us and out into the world.

Mary McManus,post polio survivor and Boston Marathon finisher is the author of “New World Greetings:Inspirational Poetry and Musings for a New World.” She generously donates 20% of book proceeds to Spaulding Rehab’s Polio Fund. You can contact her at www.newworldgreetings.com