I’d like to talk a bit about the seventh of Norbert Čapek’s ‘Ten Advices’, which is simply headed ‘Rejoice’. Čapek continues, ‘Keep yourself in good spirits. Cultivate humour and remember that a cheerful mind is half of both health and beauty.’ This can be a challenge.
Of course, where we are in our personal lives has a huge bearing on whether or not it is easy to rejoice. Most of us have experienced times of gloom caused by bereavement, bad relationships or work difficulties. Some of us may also have suffered clinical depression, which if left untreated may make rejoicing seem out of the question.
However, going beyond these factors, the wider state of the world makes it difficult for many of us to rejoice. Wars, dictatorships and environmental problems are nothing new, but possibly there was more hope for a better future in the past. In simplistic terms, this could be called the ‘Star Trek’ future, where there is peace on earth, a cooperative federation of planets in the galaxy, and the basic necessities of life are freely available. At present, one could be forgiven for thinking that a ‘Starship Troopers’ future is more likely, where the world government is fascist, and humans explore the galaxy to conquer and destroy other lifeforms.
However, the future is never inevitable, and we all can influence it for the better. It can help if we manage to find strength in something greater than ourselves, however we may understand it. The anonymous writer in chapter 41 of the Book of Isaiah wrote,
‘But those who look to the Lord will win new strength,
they will grow wings like eagles;
they will run and not be weary,
they will march on and never grow faint.’
Of course, our understanding of the divine is probably different to that of the Old Testament writers, but we can still find inspiration in the transcendent, which we may see in the beauties of nature, contemplation of art, the kindness of other people, as well as in religion. Let us not forget that each particular evil runs its course and eventually disappears, whether it is the Nazi regime that murdered Čapek or the tyrannical rulers of ancient Assyria and Babylon. There is no need for gloom as long as we are actively working to make the world a better place. I believe that eventually we have the possibility of reaching a state of mind where we feel lasting happiness. Wordsworth, in his poem ‘Tintern Abbey’, called this
‘…that blessed mood,
In which the burden of the mystery,
In which the heavy and the weary weight
Of all this unintelligible world
Is lightened.’
May we all be able to reach such a state, and let us then rejoice.