Duty and Delight
Dorothy Day’s Last Arrest

While waiting for someone today I had a chance to read more of the Diaries of Dorothy Day, “The Duty of Delight”. Much of what I read today covered a time she spent taking care of her grandchildren while her daughter was having another baby. Actually, large hunks of her time were spent caring for her daughter, her husband and grandchildren and anyone else who happened to be around. In fact it was after a long day of business, housework, caring for children and getting some sorrowful news that Dorothy wrote in her diary: “The duty of delight—as Ruskin says.” (163). In a footnote on the page the editor, Robert Ellsberg, explains how “The Duty of delight,” a phrase from John Ruskin, came to serve for Dorothy as a call to mindfulness in the face of drudgery and sorrow.”

In this Diary of a Worm I have been talking a lot about ‘mindfulness’ and keeping perspective, balance and meditating during the busy days of life. So maybe the phrase “The duty of delight” from Ruskin via Dorothy Day would be a good one for me to keep in mind. As Dorothy wrote somewhere else: “It is not easy always to be joyful, to keep in mind the duty of delight.”

Reflecting on the ‘duty’ part of the phrase, much of my life appears before me. Even when I was reading this section of Dorothy’s Diary I was doing my “duty”, waiting for someone keeping an appointment so I could drive the person home. However, the ‘delight’ part takes a little more thought and ‘seeing.’ But just as a yellow daffodils pop up after the drudgery of winter, there were moments of joy in my life today. One example was that while a friend was repairing some plumbing in the house today we humorously kidded each other about being “rejects.” Even reading about Dorothy and her grandchildren brought back many joyful moments I have spent with my grandchildren and reminded me that there were many more to go.

I feel strongly called by a sense of ‘duty’ in what I do. Now I need to feel just as strong sense of ‘delight’ in what I am. Together Duty and Delight make a strong team.

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