“Ocian in view! O! the joy”
– William Clark on seeing the Pacific Ocean on the Lewis and Clark Expedition (November 7, 1805)
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If one is the loneliest number, then joy is the lowliest word. And, my favorite.
The letters in the word joy are three lowly letters:
j- is one of two broken letters (i) that were never fixed. Somehow j broke leaving a dot (officially a tittle – Merriam Webster: a very small part).
o - gets no respect. People are constantly using o when they mean zero. In Maryland, when you say the area code 4-1-0, most do not say 4-1-zero, most say 4-1-“o”. Imagine if people mixed you up with zero. “Hey, here comes zero.”
y - Y is a part-time vowel. We learn that the vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and SOMETIMES y. Apparently, y is not good enough to be a full-time vowel. Probably does not get employee benefits either.
Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Add these lowly letters - j, o, and y, - together and we get the greatest word. A special feeling we hope to achieve.
We feel joy at major events in our lives: when we get married, have a child, and when the U.S. Olympic Hockey team won the 1980 Gold Medal. Or, when we see the Pacific Ocean.
We speak of "a bundle of joy," "pure joy," and "unbridled joy."
A search of “Joy of” in Amazon books reveals our desire to share joy: The Joy of Cooking, The Joy of Sex, The Joy of Bird Feeding, The Joy of Home Brewing, and my favorite - The Joy of Pickling.
Joy is a popular word this time of year. “Christmas Joy,” “Joy to the World,” “Joyful, Joyful, We adore thee.”
Maybe we should look at these letters in a different light:
That tittle is not a dot but a star shining down to guide us.
That “o” is not a zero but an unbroken circle calling us home.
That y is not a part-time vowel but two arms reaching for the star
These 3 lowly letters join together to form a word - Joy – that allows us to transcend ourselves.
Like the story of Christmas.
Do not fret, I did not forget. Here is “Ode to Joy.” EnJOY:
How about you? When did you experience joy? What is your favorite word? Share a Story!
