Childlike Joy & Fruit Loop Scent — Joy is Sacred, Not Trivial
- Gin
- Sep 13
- 3 min read
We live in a culture that teaches us to mistrust joy. We treat laughter as frivolous, play as childish, sweetness as luxury. We even design our spiritual practices to be solemn, heavy, incense-filled, hushed with seriousness — as if the Divine prefers reverence over giggles.
But sometimes Spirit shows up smelling like Fruit Loops.
That’s what happened when the moonflower on my porch — a flower that blooms only at night, glowing pale white under the Black Moon — opened wide and released a scent that was anything but solemn. Instead of incense or roses, it smelled exactly like the cereal I grew up with on Saturday mornings: sugary, citrusy, joyful.
And in that moment, I realized joy is not trivial. Joy is sacred.
Storytelling: The Fruit Loop Bloom
The first time the moonflower opened, I leaned in expecting something mystical. Something temple-worthy. Something that would match the gravity of a flower that blooms at night.
Instead, I laughed. Because what hit me was nostalgia. Fruit Loops. Childhood mornings in front of cartoons. A sugar rush and a sense of possibility.
It was like Spirit had tapped me on the shoulder and said: “Gin, holiness is not always incense and solemn hymns. Sometimes holiness is cereal milk and laughter.”
That laugh cracked open a vow I didn’t even know I was still carrying: the vow that joy must be earned, and that sacredness must always be serious.
Psychology: Play as Survival
Psychologists like Dr. Stuart Brown have spent decades studying play. His conclusion? Play is not optional. It is survival.
Children who are deprived of play don’t just miss out on fun — they struggle with creativity, resilience, even empathy. Adults who abandon play become brittle, burned out, and more prone to depression.
Play tells the nervous system: you are safe. You can explore. You can grow.
The Fruit Loop bloom wasn’t just a funny moment. It was my nervous system being given medicine: the medicine of play, the medicine of childlike joy.
Sociology: Joy as Resistance
Joy is also a form of resistance.
Throughout history, marginalized communities have used joy as defiance. Enslaved people sang spirituals in fields. Queer communities celebrate with glitter and parades. Protestors dance in the streets even while chanting for justice.
Joy says: you cannot take my humanity.
In a culture that equates worth with grind, laughter is rebellion. To smile without permission is sacred defiance.
Spirituality: Divine Humor
Mystics across traditions tell us the Divine laughs.
Sufi poets like Hafiz wrote about holy absurdity. Trickster gods like Loki and Coyote remind us that laughter is often the fastest path to truth. Even Christian mystics recorded moments of “holy laughter” that broke people open to grace.
Divine humor cracks open the rigid shell of self-importance.
The Fruit Loop bloom was Spirit’s joke, whispered through petals: Lighten up, Gin. Laughter is holy, too.
Parapsychology: Scents as Messages
In parapsychology, phantom scents are often described as Spirit communication — smelling roses with no flowers, tobacco with no smoke, perfume of a loved one who has passed.
The Fruit Loop bloom wasn’t phantom — but it was still message.
It was Spirit saying: “Don’t overlook joy because it smells silly. Even cereal can be sacred.”
Cosmology: A Playful Universe
Zoom out. Galaxies spin in spirals. Planets dance in orbits. Subatomic particles jitter and skip like children on a playground.
The universe itself is playful.
Why do we think our joy is frivolous if reality itself was built to dance?
Everyday Applications
In Money: Joy isn’t irresponsible spending. It’s allowing yourself to taste sweetness even in tight seasons.
In Love: Joy isn’t distraction. It’s glue that holds intimacy together.
In Faith: Joy isn’t irreverence. It’s worship.
Integration Practices
Memory Scent: Recall a childhood smell that makes you laugh. Crayons? Grass? Candy? Write about it. Let it be holy.
Silly Ritual: Do one deliberately silly thing this week — blow bubbles, eat cereal for dinner, sing badly. Offer it to Spirit as prayer.
Joy Break: Every day, pause for one unearned laugh. A meme, a show, a joke. Let your body learn that joy is survival fuel.
Conclusion
The moonflower smelled like Fruit Loops. And instead of dismissing it as trivial, I laughed and breathed it in.
Joy is not garnish. Joy is not weakness. Joy is sacred rebellion, survival fuel, divine humor.
So the next time Spirit shows up silly, don’t dismiss it. Don’t shame it. Laugh. Sip. Receive.
Because joy is holy. Joy is necessary. Joy is the nectar that keeps us alive.
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