Joy is a feeling or mindset that we associate with the holiday season.
In her book It’s Never too Late to Begin Again, Julia Cameron includes a chapter on “Reigniting a Sense of Joy” and promises the reader will “uncover many of your true values, and it is acting within our true values that brings us a sense of abiding joy.” Other joy inducing topics she explores are grandchildren, pets, play, humor, and even luxury. Joy brings us positive energy. Now with Covid cases rising, the loss of lives and incomes, the exhausting and divisive election season just ending, and social justice issues calling for our attention, some of us are asking- How do we find joy in December 2020? And is it appropriate that we even try? Here are some thoughts about why it is important to, and how we can try.
Some argue that joy is a frivolous, childish emotion that should not be emphasized when so many are suffering and in pain. And it’s important to acknowledge this loss. However, we also want to move forward to something better, and an important part of that better is joy. As Krista Tippett writes-“…joy is a piece of basic human resilience. It’s a human birthright. And in fact, one of the paradoxical and amazing things about our species is how people are able to get through the worst, also, with their joy muscle intact.” We want to keep that “joy muscle” strong.
You might be asking, how is this going to be a joy-filled holiday without my children, grandchildren, and friends around? What can I do to fill these special but very different days? The answer is as individualized as you are, but here are a few ideas.
We are very blessed to have technology that allows us to be together remotely, so take advantage of it to have a longer, quieter conversation with a family member or friend than you would normally have with others around. It might be fun, too, to play one of the online games now popular with groups, such as Charades, Online Pictionary, or Hangman.
Food is a dominant part of holidays, and many of us spend long hours preparing elaborate meals. This is a good year to simplify, streamline, and maybe even get take out! Or, if you like to do all that cooking, have fun trying new recipes and share the extra with a neighbor or friend who is alone.
Music is an important part of the holidays for me, so I will be checking out the many concerts on TV, YouTube, and live streaming. If you haven’t already seen it, the Angel City Chorale has an amazing Christmas concert up on YouTube. Your entertainment of choice might be a movie, and there are certainly lots to choose from.
And, of course, there is the spiritual or religious aspect of the holidays that during “normal” times often gets lost in the gifts and decorations. The quiet time this year might be a wonderful opportunity to explore more deeply the true meaning and hope of this special birth. How can this inform what we are experiencing now and how we want to come out on the other side of Covid
Hopefully, these ideas and others you think of will bring joy into your December celebrations and maybe even create some new traditions that you’ll carry into 2021!
Leaving you with this inspiring poem by Sri Chimnoy:
True inner joy is self-created.
It does not depend on outer circumstances.
A river is flowing in and through you carrying the message of joy.
This divine joy is the sole purpose of life.