Sunday, December 04, 2005

Joy

Did I get your attention? Good because what I love about this season is that we’re encouraged to think about joy and happiness as well as love and peace. I believe, to the bottom of my heart, that every change we want to make is more likely to occur if we find some way to bring joy into the process.

Which reminds me, some of you have privately expressed concern about my last couple of posts and I wanted to comment on that. Something in my own life that was very important to me recently got worked out and in part because I did speak up to someone. Fear and conflict are also things that come up, over and over, when I coach people about life so decided to post about it here. My apologies if I worried anyone!

It is, of course, easier to speak of things that can be difficult when we have looked at and put to rest our own fears and when we start from a base of knowing that we can create joy in our lives. So...

Back to joy. When I look at my Christmas tree, I smile because it reminds me of the magic I could feel as a child when anything seemed possible at this time of year. When I see a Menorah, I am reminded that miracles are possible. When I hear children sing about peace on earth, I am reminded that if we all held this in our hearts all year round, there wouldn’t be any wars.

It’s easy to get caught up in the “shoulds” of the season. We should have perfect family gatherings. We should find perfect presents for everyone on our list. We should bake innumerable cookies for school and neighborhood and church events. We should send out Christmas cards ON TIME. We should...

What if we step back and focus on the joy and the love and the possibilities instead? What if we focus on the best of what every religion has taught—that we are all connected and that within us is a spark of the divine? What if we focus on the message that we can create miracles if we trust in that divine spark and look to ourselves to help to change the world, moment by moment, in our own lives by living the love and joy and peace we sing about at this time of year?

If we are focused on that, odds are we will find just the right token to show those we care about that they are important to us. We will send out cards because we feel secure in who we are and want to reach out and connect with people in our lives. We will be able to let this season be whatever it turns out to be and not worry if it isn’t perfect. In other words, we can truly enjoy it again.

Wishing all of you joy and peace and love now and throughout the year ahead.

April