EDITORIAL

Joy and gratitude

BY LAURIE STUART
Posted 11/24/22

With this week’s paper, we begin a six-week exploration of joy. It seemed fitting that given the current state of national and global news, we concentrate on finding stories of resilience. That we explore the path from pain and separation to interconnection and—if we are lucky and diligent—joy.

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EDITORIAL

Joy and gratitude

Posted

With this week’s paper, we begin a six-week exploration of joy. It seemed fitting that given the current state of national and global news, we concentrate on finding stories of resilience. That we explore the path from pain and separation to interconnection and—if we are lucky and diligent—joy.

New York Times columnist Tish Harrison Warren describes it this way, “To choose joy is to see all existence as a gift, which is why the practice of joy is inseparable from the practice of gratitude. Gratitude gives birth to joy because gratitude teaches us to receive life as a gift in the moment we’re in. It teaches us that our very existence is a gift.”

Indeed, our very existence is a gift. A gift that is dependent on others. We realize this most acutely when we practice gratitude.

With gratitude, we are present to the reality that we are not, thank goodness, in this alone. Many, many people make it possible for us to live. And the good news is that we find these community helpers everywhere. Grocery store workers, farmers, construction workers, retail shop owners, fuel oil deliverers, babysitters, neighbors, mothers, fathers, siblings, you, me, everyone, everwhere.

So wherever you find yourself this holiday weekend, may you feel supported and nurtured, connected into a web of interdependence. And may the gratitude for the small stuff make your day joyful.

holiday season, joy, gratitude, thankfulness, family, friends, home

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