Your joy does not have to be a betrayal of those who suffer or are in pain.
In fact, your deliberate joy is a potent act of political resistance.
It can reconnect you to your power to make a difference in the world.
It will inoculate you against attempts to manipulate or control.
It is the brain-fuel that keeps you going in hard times, and the heart-food which sustains you to pour blessings out upon the world.
It is the sister of compassion, each boosting the other in a synergistic dance which has the power to change the world and nourish your soul.
Joy doesn't require the latest shiny thing, or the following of certain rules.
It doesn't have to look like sunshine and unicorns and puppies, though some days it can.
It isn't the exclusive birthright of those who've never walked through a depressive episode, and it's not incompatible with grief or even anxiety.
It can be the joy of purpose fulfilled, the joy of compassion expressed in good works, the joy of uncomfortable trailblazing growth, the joy of freshly folded laundry.
It can be the deep, resonant joy of loving and liberating one's own truest, messiest Self; or it can be the sensory joy when a simple meal meets with a hungry belly.
Being deliberate about joy doesn't really require much: the willingness to allow it, a few basic skills, and a little practice.
I'm feeling so damn feisty about this, today.
It's like ... the more pain and distress I see in the world, the more determined I am to wreak joy: to choose the kind of joy that rejects spiritual bypassing or toxic positive thinking, the kind of joy that partners up so beautifully with compassion.
Maybe it's a consequence of being brought up by people who endured the London Blitz.
Maybe it's a consequence of being conscious of the way unscrupulous people use fear and joylessness as tools of destruction.
Maybe it's the impending Mercury Retrograde in fiery Leo.
Anywho...
It's 5pm on a cold Thursday night, there are gorgeous wholemeal rolls in the cupboard, cherry jam in the fridge, and plenty of teabags on hand.
And that joy is perfect for my needs, right now.