Joy To The World

     I remember as a boy the powerful stirring in my heart when at Christmas I would here the Carol Joy To The World. That inner stirring would rise up and I would see the beauty of the season and the world around me. There wasn't an adult view of life that suffocated the amazing symbolism of this gift. Yes I am a Christian, and I am proud of that. Proud because I am a better person with God than without. I am not religious, I am a Disciple of a way of life. That is my purpose as a I walk the path ahead of me.

     Here is the thing to remember about Joy To The World. We are that Joy, share in that Joy, and create that Joy. The Joy is contained in our DNA, never lost, yet certainly buried as we transition to being an adult. Society has a way of creating a pressure that removes that real Joy. We start to walk away from the truth of that Joy to a reality that aims to suppress it. Yet it is always contained within us and it's source willing to show us the way. The heart of hope will open the door to Joy that resides within a gift we have the choice to receive.

     This season offers us a chance to reconnect with that inner child. To experience the Joy the World received. To be the light you were designed to be and lift up other people. Being a servant often goes without an recognition and is looked down upon in today's society. The purpose of service is not about today's society. The purpose of service is to elevate the other person to a place of Joy. Service is not about recognition, it is about restitution of the heart. As the lyrics to Joy To The World say, "Repeat the sounding Joy." It is a sound at this time of year. It doesn't have to go silent when the lights and trees come down and the status quo returns. We are the sound of Joy, not politics, not religion, not a heart that is closed to serving others.

Merry Christmas

Daniel