Joy At Christmas

We all remember the song, Joy to the World. We all wish to find that Joy after many challenging times. I do a talk with music and poems about finding that joy this year at Christmas. We can choose to allow joy to be in our hearts and souls. We can also find ways to share that joy as we share our love with others. Let's celebrate Joy and the blessings found in life.

Transcript

Joy.

I love that song,

Joy to the World,

Don't you?

It's something that we all would wish for and hope for,

But,

You know,

It's been a hard few years.

We've seen so many things that we've had to deal with,

You know,

Between the COVID and then the wars and here on Maui we had fires and the world is so in need of joy.

We've just had to go through so many challenges and so it's time to get back to our heart and to believe and to have hope and to wish upon a star and to believe that there is joy that you can experience.

Joy that you can live with,

A true joy,

And that can be found within and you can bring that joy within into your life and you can find it in the beauty of the world,

Possibly a gorgeous sunrise or when you're walking in nature seeing some birds flying or maybe you can see a lovely sunset.

There's so much beauty that holds joy.

I get a feeling of joy when I see a rainbow.

I like it when I see the light pouring through the clouds.

Every light in the darkness is a guiding force that helps bring you to reflect that light of God that lives inside you and lives in all that is true.

And when a storm approaches and when the clouds move in,

There's still that light that can be seen on the horizon,

That rebirth,

That moment where you feel restored and renewed.

You know,

If we didn't have all of these challenges,

Sometimes we wouldn't appreciate it when the joy did come.

Maybe we wouldn't try a little harder to do more,

Pray more,

Create more,

Serve more.

But if you can go back to that precious place in your heart where there's unconditional love and find that place of light and love where that God light is there within you.

And if you can connect from that light to your soul,

You will remember the joy you had in so many moments in your life.

Take a few moments to reflect on different joyous times that you had when you were in love,

Maybe when you got married or maybe when you had a child.

It could even be when you got an animal or pet.

You know,

Something joyous that can bring you that light of joy into your heart.

And let that light be present.

Let that light bring you the ability to remember the love that is alive in the world and the blessings that come in this world.

And that will help restore and redeem you and transform that darkness into light.

I find prayers really do help when you can talk to God and feel some hope when you can express and let go of those burdens that are beyond your ability to carry.

And you can,

You can always pray and let go.

You don't need to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.

Many times you just realize it's beyond what you could do anyway,

So you surrender.

And sometimes in that moment of surrendering,

You leave a little more opening in your heart to believe that there can be goodwill,

That there can be love.

And then you might just see some instances of good things,

Because there are always good things happening.

You can just go to that point where you can celebrate.

Celebrate yourself.

Celebrate others.

And when we think sometimes that things have been very dark and very challenging,

Sometimes we don't even want to feel happy.

And have you seen that after the war,

And during the wars,

And during the times where there's been all these challenges?

Have you almost felt guilty about celebrating or feeling happy?

This is the time we need to celebrate with joy.

Maybe you could think of every day as a day of Thanksgiving or a day of Christmas.

Every day we arise to the light of a new day.

We recognize a new light is here to lift the world out of darkness.

We can breathe in the gratitude of being alive.

And we can take a little bit of time to meditate and go within and connect to our soul and to that original space.

You know that space.

That sacred space inside you.

You feel when you're breathing in light and being restored to the truth of who you are.

I mean,

There are people,

Of course,

That have been going through so many challenges.

They may be going through PTSD.

And I wouldn't be surprised with what we've seen going on in the world.

But there are people out there who can't help you.

There are people who want to help you.

There are many steps you can take to alleviate that stress and that trauma that the world has gone through.

And one of the ways is to go within and to meditate.

And to find that source within you,

The original source that can begin to release and just let go of all that stress and the darkness and be restored to the light that you are.

So take time to meditate.

It's so valuable to take time to meditate and to pray.

You are worth it.

You are.

You are a beloved child of God.

And you are loved so much more than you might know.

Here are a few things and ways you can find joy.

One way to find joy is to be of service.

To go out there and see the world.

To help others and realize there's many more out there that are in more need and going through more than you are.

And that by helping them you could find some purpose in your life to help and serve.

Now service can take on many forms.

It might be going out to help World Kitchen or something like that.

But it also could be creating some music.

It could be doing a piece of artwork.

It could be giving something away or donating something.

There's so many ways you can serve.

Another wonderful key is to set an intention to have joy.

Why not?

Why not just set an intention right now to be joyful today?

Set an intention to experience joy and happiness.

Plant that seed in your soul and in your heart to believe that you can experience that joy.

And you can also control your thoughts.

If your thoughts get controlled by the news and bad news and there's a lot of bad news out there,

You can turn off the news.

You can avoid things on social media that are negative.

You can choose to live in a way that you navigate through these stormy waters and find that compass in your heart.

The compass of God will guide you as you set your intention to stay joyful.

I find that I can feel joy when I appreciate beauty.

And beauty is all around you.

There are so many things of beauty.

I have a friend named Gary Greenberg.

He's done a few books,

But one's called Grains of Sand.

He has a microscope that is very special that he created.

He can actually look at a grain of sand and every grain of sand is different.

And each is so beautiful.

Every cell has so much there inside it that is so precious and beautiful.

We are surrounded by beauty,

But sometimes we forget to look.

Now you can tap into the joy inside you and make an intention to share that joy.

Maybe share it by going out and doing something special for someone.

Maybe share the joy by surprising yourself with some special reward that might make you happy.

Maybe make a plan to include something you know that you would love in your day or in the next week or two.

Another wonderful tip for experiencing joy is to be in the presence of spirit.

Now spirit,

That spirit has a presence.

We often say in Hawaii,

Aloha.

A-L-O is a living spirit,

The living presence.

Ha is a breath.

Each breath holds spirit.

So breathe.

As you breathe and aware that each breath is full of that wonderful spirit and presence,

You can actually invigorate yourself and feel yourself feeling that energy.

You can also breathe in joy right now.

Take a breath of joy and just breathe it in and breathe it out.

Your breath sweeps away things in your mind,

The thoughts you don't need.

And don't allow yourself to worry because we know that worry actually attracts what we're worrying about.

As you think it,

You draw it to you.

So if instead of worrying,

Every time you start to worry,

You just say a little prayer and pray to be in that space where you are at peace and whole and happy.

Don't worry,

Be happy.

One of the ones I love is to get out in nature and take a beautiful walk.

I do that every day.

And another wonderful key that works is counting your blessings.

You can count your blessings.

That's gratitude,

Right?

We have so much to be grateful for.

And it changes your focus of your mind to look for a moment for what you can be grateful for.

And when you realize how much you have to be grateful for,

It changes your attitude.

Let's breathe in some deep breaths of gratitude from our heart.

Breathing in five times.

Breathing in first.

Gratitude to the count of five and let it go.

Now breathing out any tension that may have occurred from stress.

And from your heart,

Breathe in gratitude and breathe it deeply in.

Allow it to go up to your head and surround you with a wonderful light,

Great light of gratitude as you breathe out.

Breathe in one more time.

Breathing in gratitude,

Allowing that gratitude to open you up to joy.

And breathe out.

Breathe in gratitude one more time.

Allow it to make your heart open to allow more happiness and joy in.

And one more time,

As you count your blessings,

Be grateful for something and breathe in that gratefulness right now.

And as you breathe out,

You'll find you feel better.

And now we're going to do some affirmations,

Which also help set the intention.

Today,

I plan to allow myself to feel happy and full of joy.

And so it is.

Today,

My heart overflows with the gift of gratitude that opens me up to the joy and the wonders of life that surround me.

And so it is.

Today,

I open my eyes to the beauty of life and in nature and I allow that beauty to inspire me and uplift me so I can feel happiness and joy.

And so it is.

Right now,

I am in the creative moment that allows me to experience the uplifting sounds of music and light and nature and beauty and I feel good.

Thank you,

God.

And so it is.

Right now,

I am grateful for the many blessings I have in life and I allow these blessings to change me into the beauty that I am and allow me to experience the joy and happiness always.

And so it is.

And the last one here,

I open my heart to the love that is unconditional that comes from God,

The ultimate creator.

And I believe and know that that love is present there within my heart now and always.

Thank you,

God.

And so it is.

I hope you can allow yourself that joy,

That wonderful gift,

The blessings that are there in life to bring you to that point where you can experience and celebrate your life with happiness and joy always.

God bless you.

Poems on joy.

Christmas is magic.

It brings more light into the darkest of nights and more kindness that we can find.

We can feel the love that appears,

The joy that comes at this time of year.

We share our hope.

We share a good cheer.

We share our love with the spirit of Christmas that's there.

It's alive when we bring that magic light to shine through us in spite of all the challenges we have faced in our life.

Enjoy the special time.

Let your love light shine.

Goodwill is alive in the hope for humankind.

Celebrate the joy at Yuletide.

Decorate the tree.

Put up the lights.

Open your heart to invite the magic of Christmas there,

Alive in you and me.

A place of beauty.

There is a place of indescribable beauty where I abide.

Bring this beauty into your life,

A place where joy is alive.

The bliss of the one love is shared by all who are in tune with the song of the universe that is alive inside of you.

Bring this song into your heart so you may hear that song we sing.

There is a love so strong it brings us into the source of the light of creation's stream.

It gives us reason to serve and endure all of life's challenges so that we may taste the holy essence that leads us to rebirth and face that light that's more radiant than a million suns,

A light that is the very name of God.

It's a living light of spirit.

This light can be alive in your soul.

You can see that vision,

That Christ light and follow the path to heaven's gates for you are the bridge of heaven on earth and you can know these blessings with faith and merge with the vision of heaven.

With your dream,

Sing the song of life forth with the unconditional love that God can bring,

The promise of joy,

The promise of joy,

The glimmer of hope,

The chance to survive through precarious times,

The changing of the light,

The glimpse of what might be when someday appears and we're all ready to see the open door to the new promised day and align with the highest forces to show us the way.

Shake off that past and all the hidden fear and be able to act at last to find that joy that is here.

The beauty of creation's face.

I have seen the exquisite beauty of creation's face.

In the blessed universe,

I have found that sacred space.

I have traveled near and far to explore the gifts found here on earth and to stand in wonder at heaven's door.

In the miracle of life that God is birth,

I see the endless art that nature brings.

I see the light in every soul that shines and I am humbled by the love it brings.

Yes,

The path is long and hard and we seek and still can't find the reason that explains it all on this journey of humankind.

Still,

We stop and wonder and pause along the way and to see the joy and the glory and the miracles that are brought each day.

We call upon the inner strength to bring us to that place where we find the spark of God within us that brings us face to face with the light in each soul that's shining and the beauty we can't erase.

May we allow ourselves to see the love that God has offered us to be our purpose and destiny.

May we find a moment to stop and look and wonder at the miracle of this journey.

So we call upon the angels who have always stood right by,

Who shower their spirits intent and bring a vision to our eyes and here on earth in the space and time we recognize and see the beauty of creation's face that's living there in you and me.

The joy of the ages comes with the light of heaven as it touches the earth.

The joy of the ages is in the love that turns the heart to rebirth.

The love of a light,

The glory of now that comes with a song divine.

The joy of the ages touches the earth with heaven's delight to remind.

So sing with joy,

Sing with love,

Sing of the light divine.

Know the joy of ages and sing from your heart to mine.

The joy of the ages is with us right now with a chorus from angels on high.

The joy of the ages is here right now,

It's alive within this song.

So sing with joy,

Sing with love,

Sing of the light divine.

Know the joy of ages and sing from your heart to mine.

So sing with joy,

Sing with love,

Sing of the light divine.

Know the joy of ages and sing from your heart to mine.