Today marks probably my favourite Sunday of Advent – the Sunday of Joy. I have spent a lot of time thinking and talking about Joy….and finding it! I love focusing on Joy all year round so I especially love that today’s Advent theme is that of Joy. { You can read some of my obsession with Joy HERE, HERE, HERE }
You see, Joy is possible to have no matter the circumstances of life. To me, Joy isn’t the same as happiness. Joy is deeper, longer lasting and can override some of the more negative emotions that us humans tend to feel. I am by no means diminishing anyone’s struggle with mental health issues, clinical depression, trauma or grief, to be clear. I’m speaking more to things like having a bad day or an off week.
Joy is easy for me to find. It is often the little things that make me smile throughout the day like a dog gleefully running through crunchy leaves, a butterfly flitting around a sweet smelling flower, a snuggle from a sweet girl, or the purr of a cat asleep on my lap. It might be an elderly couple holding hands, a wee baby’s gummy smile, an eagle soar on the air currents or a scuttling hermit crab on the sand. And spotting these things can make me see the good in the world around me when I’m so turned inward and seeing only the troubles I’m faced with.
We see what we look for. If all we see is all that is wrong, then we’ll just see more of it. But if we decide to see the good around us, we notice the way a teenager holds the door open respectfully, or the way the sun filters through the clouds and sheds light across the landscape, the curl of a frosty window or a fellow driver giving you the wave on a busy road when you’re trying to pull out into traffic. These are all joyful things. Do you see them?
I have two friends who are spending part of this advent season acknowledging the Joy in their lives and they are encouraging others to do the same. And I’m 100% cheering them on!! Suzi Fevens is doing a Moments of Joy Challenge in her Well U Facebook Community and I love it. { She’s also doing some great Live videos too, from cooking, baking and some crafting, besides all her regular fitness classes! } Michelle McCann is also doing a 42 day countdown to the end of 2020 and finding Joy each day. It ranges from a humorous mug, to the local deer to her sidekick, Roxy, to sparkly slippers.
As I sat on my comfy new couch scrolling through the socials, I read what Sarah Bessey had to say. “Real joy doesn’t mean that we are sticking our heads in the sand and saying, “it’s fine, we’re fine, everything’s fine” when things are clearly and obviously not fine.” She goes on to say “Joy is nurtured, not pretending everything is fine, but holding our hope together with our grief, the good news with our sorrow, and naming both as reality. We practice joy because we are clear-eyed about our realities – all of them.”
Joy – Always.
Warmly,
Lori
