WE LIKE TO CELEBRATE all things that are good. Those “things” can take many different forms.
Here are a few that I can think of off the top of my head:

• Finally making exercise a part of your daily routine
• Battling through an illness
• Enjoying long walks with a family member or friend
• Bringing joy to someone's life through your caring, unselfish friendship
• Overcoming the smoking habit
• Learning to cook nutritious meals at home instead of buying processed meals
• Watching the birth of your child or becoming a grandparent
• Graduating from university
• Accomplishing a goal after much perseverance
• Falling in love
• Learning to appreciate nature and its incredible unity and complexity

I could go on and on because there is so much to be thankful for. Even when our circumstances are less than ideal, there is much to be joyful about. I didn't use the word ‘happy’ because joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness depends on circumstances. The word itself comes from the same root word as happening. It means that something good has happened to you (and that is not a bad thing).

Joy, on the other hand, defies circumstances. It can coexist with doubt, ambiguity, and pain. It is a contentedness beyond circumstances, an indestructible kind of confidence that says everything's all right even when everything looks, feels, and tastes all wrong.

There are 5 aspects to joy:

1. Joy is not the same as happiness
2. Joy is a choice
3. Joy is based on who we are and not on what we have
4. Joy is not selfish
5. The purpose of joy is service

Much more could be said on this topic of joy but let me finish this part by saying, may this summer season be one where you experience not only great personal joy but that you also find yourself an instigator of joy in the lives of others.

As always, we extend a warm welcome to our new readers. In addition, I want to express my many thanks to those who have contributed to this issue.

Finally, I want to welcome into the world my first grandchild — a baby girl — Charlie Mabel Eileen Mason. She brings great joy to all of us!

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