Dear All,
Last week I asked you a question. I was feeling a little out of sorts that day, so the question was for me as much as anything –
‘Where or how do you find your joy?’
I was entirely unprepared for the response. Over 2,000 letters arrived in the first few days and they are still pouring in. So many of your answers are extraordinarily moving, from thoughtful and eloquent treatises on the nature of joy, to a tiny voice from Limerick, Ireland, saying simply, ‘Golf’ – a response that, for some inexplicable reason, reduced me to tears. I said I would post my favourite answer, but it is impossible to choose and so instead I have decided to collate them all onto their own page called ‘Joy’, where they will permanently and defiantly reside as a resource in times of need. I’m trying to read through them all, but it will take a little time, so the first 500 or so are there for you now, and the rest will be added over the next week or so.
Regardless of what we may sometimes feel about ourselves or the hardships we may encounter, it is evident that people see this troubled world as a place of considerable beauty. Joy continues to leap up, unafraid to find us. This thought profoundly moves me, and I thank you so much for revealing this notion so powerfully.
This is the 300th post, and this week also marks six years of The Red Hand Files! The gods of love and mathematics are aligned!
Love, Nick
