Remember that we are Joy
Original Medium Post HERE
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“So this goes to the adults out there: just keep the joy inside of us and remember that we are joy.” — Jakiel Moses Harris
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Jakiel Moses Harris, sharing the joy, as he mentors and trains young family members with the bo staff
Carolina Espinoza, the East Boston Social Centers’ Marketing and Communications Coordinator, recently sat down for a conversation[1] with our board member, and a leader for community joy, Jakiel Moses Harris. This is a very lightly edited transcript of their conversation.
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Introduction
My name is Jakiel Moses Harris. I am a board member of the East Boston Social Centers Boston. I’m also a contractor and project manager within real estate and construction.
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What do you do to bring Joy in East Boston?
What I do to bring joy to East Boston is I’m into martial arts and things like that. And I practice a lot outside. And if there are kids that see me, I welcome them to join me. Also, play a lot of basketball at the basketball court. I’m always interacting with people there. That’s definitely been a good way to bring joy.
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What could bring more Joy to the community?
I believe that if there was more events for the community to come together, over the summer: Zumix has these concerts, which is really great, and more events like that, like block parties or anything will be really great for the community. I think that’s a great, great way to start and bring some joy, bring people together.
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What brings you Joy?
What brings me joy is waking up and being able to have my time to do the things I love to do: moving my body, reading my books, spending time with my wife and my family, and music. I love music. So these are things that bring me joy and I’m able to release them and spread them.
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Final Thoughts
One thing I would add is if you are looking for joy, don’t look for it. Just accept it, embrace it, and internalize it because we all naturally have joy inside of us. It’s something that we’ve been born with. You see a newborn child: they’re smiling and they’re not taught to smile. They’re not taught to laugh. It’s just something that’s in them. And these are things that we might forget along the way as we become adults. So this goes to the adults out there: just keep the joy inside of us and remember that we are joy.
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Stay joyful, East Boston.
Please share, subscribe, and join our movement by emailing me or supporting East Boston Social Centers. Look out each week for our posts about boosting joy the only way we can: in community.