In Freedom from the Known, Jiddu Krishnamurti wrote about joy and pleasure. Joy is in the awareness of the moment. It has no history and can’t really be compared to other joyful moments. Pleasure, the way he defined it, is always connected to a memory and compared to that memory. If we don’t have the experience we expect, we experience displeasure, pain, sorrow, or heartbreak instead.

This most peculiar holiday season, if you find yourself down in the dumps because this year’s celebrations are different that what you wanted them to be, I invite you to consider shifting your focus away from comparison with some imagined ‘Currier and Ives moment’ or some Hallmark holiday movie with predictable themes.

I invite you to lift up your eyes and be dazzled by some familiar, or new, joy. It might be the way the sunlight plays on your balcony, patio or yard, or the feel of the air, and the scent of your neighborhood as you take a walk. It might be as simple, and as profound, as the aroma of your morning beverage before you take that first sip. It might be the feel of the warm water on your hands and the fragrance of the soap, as you wash your hands for the umpteenth time today. It might be listening to your favorite music, or playing it, or listening to something new.

Color, aroma, melody or rhythm, movement, taste, texture. Inspiration surrounds us. We get to slow down and notice it, and find the joy in the moment.

–Rev Janis