[NF] Protect Thy Joyous Ones

[TopherRed]

I grew up with a prayer that my grandmother had said at my bedside every night until I was eight:

Tend your sick ones, O Lord Jesus Christ;
rest your weary ones; bless your dying ones;
soothe your suffering ones; pity your afflicted ones;
shield your joyous ones.
And all for your love’s sake.

It's the "Prayer of Saint Augustine of Hippo".

It occured to me that the bolded line was always an odd one. Then I read this blog:

The Happiness Project: It's Friday: time to think about YOUR Happiness Project. This week: Shield your joyous ones.

As you can probably see from the comments below, this one strikes me as a very INFP/ISFJ attitude.

As an ENFJ, I'm pretty sure I fall into the "sufferinig ones" category, but I would think so.

What do you all think? Just thoughts and comments.

 

[Halla74]

Interesting. I am reading this now...

The only reason I can think of to shield joy or those who are joyous, would be to protect them from the spiteful. But that seems to be in direct conflict with the concept of "...being a beacon, a house high atop a hill for others to see..." Hmmmm......

 

[TopherRed]

Her implication in the article was that she thought to "shield they joyous ones" meant that we allow them to shine, rather than attack them in spite because they found a way to be joyful, and "we" haven't. That's one way the prayer could make sense anyway...

 

[Halla74]

Her implication in the article was that she thought to "shield they joyous ones" meant that we allow them to shine, rather than attack them in spite because they found a way to be joyful, and "we" haven't. That's one way the prayer could make sense anyway...

I am happy for those that are happy, I would never attack them.

There is no need in my book to belittle the delights of others simply because I might not have them.

That seems mean spirited doesn't it?

 

[TopherRed]

Oh yeah, very much so, though I think the people that do it tend to be depressed themselves, and want to spread the self-hate around.

 

[alexx]

O wow - that's awesome.

Thanks for posting this.

 

[TopherRed]

Oh, no problem.

This is actually the version my grandma says--either it flows better than the updated version, or I'm just being ENFJ and loving the old school, regal language:

Tend thy sick ones, Soul of Christ;
Rest thy weary ones; bless thy dying ones;
soothe thy suffering ones; pity thy afflicted ones;
shield thy joyous ones.
And all for thine love’s sake.

...something about "thee"s, "thy"s, and "thine"s that make me feel all warm and inside. Don't tell anybody though.

 

[jcloudz]

I like that prayer

 

[pardo]

Considering that the others are all in pain for some reason, maybe it just meant to protect the happy ones so that nothing happens to them TOO.
It would have been unjust if those few who actually managed to be happy were deprived of the Lord's attention

 

[Heinel]

I like her quote from Samuel Johnson. It very much points out the problem she is trying to address. The article is about Fi users (as enthusiasts such as ENFP). Fi users usually make judgments based on feelings instead of concepts, and as such are not always in tune with reality. However, sometimes that is what is necessary to remain happy. That's why she warns against criticizing them and stripping them of their joyous aura.

On a more practical front, it means instead of reviewing (I think she meant judging) people based on whether the person is right or wrong (or in other words, should or should not), judge by whether or not the result is happy or sad (want or want not).

 

[PuddleRiver]

This is beautiful. Thank you, I've never heard it before.