“One for sorrow, two for joy.”
Because joy rarely exists alone. It shows up in pairs.
Two for Joy © Carmen Wakeford 2026
It doesn’t arrive with grand gestures or perfect timing. It
shows up in small, almost forgettable moments—until something else meets it and
changes the way it feels. A conversation that turns into connection. A
coincidence that lands a little too precisely, or a passing moment that
becomes meaningful. Two for joy. I think that’s why the number two has always resonated with
me. I’m a Gemini—constantly in flux, always trying to find
balance between two equally present parts of myself. I don’t experience life in
straight lines. I feel it in contrasts, in dualities. Light and shadow. Logic
and intuition. Even in creativity, I move between worlds—the structure of
thought and the freedom of imagination. The left brain and the right. One
builds, the other dreams, and I’m usually somewhere in between trying to keep
them from getting in each other’s way. It’s a blessing, seeing both sides of the tracks. It gives
depth, empathy and a bit too much perspective. If I’m honest, it can be
self-sabotaging. Because when you can see every angle, every possibility, and
almost every outcome, you can also hesitate. Overthinking can pull you in
opposite directions. Having too many perspectives makes it harder to move
forward. Sometimes being in perfect balance feels less like peace and more like
standing still, unsure which direction to honour. That’s the tension of two. Balance is about letting both sides exist without cancelling
each other out. It’s about recognizing that you don’t have to resolve the duality. And maybe that’s what “two for joy” really means. Joy, I believe, lives in connection—between people, between
moments, and between different parts of yourself. I’ve come to realize that some of my most joyful experiences
don’t come from clarity, they come from alignment. From moments where
everything meets in the middle and just works. Where I’m present in both. I have a saying I come back to often: Because even in the push and pull, the overthinking, the constant
rebalancing, I’ve learned that joy is something I can carry. Something I can
return to. It’s already there. Sometimes it just needs something else
to reflect off. A thought or a moment of recognition. Two for joy. Because even in the flux, the tension, the moments where I
feel split between versions of myself, I know there is warmth I can reach for. This piece is about honouring that. Understanding that joy comes through the presence of two.
Two perspectives. Two energies. Two wings in motion .
“Thank God I carry the sun in my pocket.”
Speaking of two wings in motion, this artwork, Two for
Joy, landed at Hole 12 at LIV Golf in Johannesburg.
Jasper and JUTE brought the exhibition together with local
artists, and this piece found its place out on the course.
A piece of my joy in the open, under the bright African sun,
bringing joy to people as they passed by.
That was a moment of alignment that returned my joy.
