This busy mother of four young boys doesn’t have time to be obsessed with much, so when she first told me about this new pursuit, my brain immediately thought, “Oh, she’s seeking happiness.” And, as if reading my simple mind, she quickly continued, “Not joy as in being happy all the time, but in a deeper, more spiritual sense.”
Unfortunately, our conversation was interrupted by an urgent demand for Legos, but I’ve been thinking about the meaning of joy ever since. What is joy and where does it come from?
Some merchants suggest joy comes in the shape of a diamond or the form of a new car. I can’t relate to the car thing, but I have to admit I did feel pretty joyful when I received my engagement ring, but fortunately, that had little to do with the ring.
The word “joy” has a lot of different forms – joyful, joyous, enjoy. The term is used in a variety of creative ways. “Joy” dish soap. (What an insult!) Joy rides – an oxymoron for me. Or the “Joy of Cooking.” Somehow, I don’t think this applies to “boxed” mac and cheese.
All of these “joys” suggest pleasure, but joy is more than that. Joy is the return of good health after battling a major illness or health scare. Joy is the homecoming of a mom or dad, son or daughter after combat duty. Joy is the birth of a baby, your own or the one in the manger, a bundle of joy.
Sometimes joy can even shine in unexpected places. The comfort and support of friends during a crisis or tragedy can often create joy amid great stress or sorrow.
I recently learned the sign language expression for joy. Words can’t do justice to this sign, but I’ll do my best to describe it. The sign involves holding your hands about six inches away from your stomach and rotating them in a circle one over the other as if to suggest something positive is emanating out from inside of you.
So, all these ponderings bring me to Christmas ... If a season can be summarized by one word, Christmas is joy. Many of us carve out hours of time in December to spread joy and good cheer to people we love and appreciate – family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, customers, newspaper carriers, even perfect strangers. We give like crazy, listen to meaningful music and take time to socialize and enjoy others.
December is a marathon month of joy seeking and giving. We exhaust ourselves spreading this joy, and then, January rolls around and we pack it away with all the wreaths, ribbons and other wrappings of Christmas.
We can’t purchase joy, but we can seek it and spread it in attitude and spirit. What I really appreciate about my friend is that she is intent on nurturing joy not just at Christmas but always, every day, even at 5 p.m. when the collective energy of her four little boys seems ready to blow the top off her house. The word quietly resonates from her kitchen wall. Joy.
May you seek and find abundant joy this Christmas and throughout the New Year.
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