The more time I spend thinking about it, the more convinced I am that joy is key to everything.

Our planet killing capitalism has us swinging back and forth between profound unhappiness, and the idea of happiness – usually in the form of things we can buy. Happiness is a passing emotion, like all other emotions. It comes and goes. Trying to be happy all the time doesn’t work and pushes us into destructive consumption.

Joy is a way of being, not a passing emotional state. It’s about having a relationship with the world that allows us to appreciate what’s beautiful and feel grateful for what’s good. It gives us room for happiness without demanding that we suppress our other feelings. Joyfulness is a philosophical position, a considered belief, and one we can cultivate no matter what our circumstances.

To be joyful, we need to be comfortable in who we are. Integrity, authenticity, and honour are important underpinnings for this. Being able to respect ourselves and value ourselves really helps. Being alert to the wonders of the natural world, to everyday magic, small beauties and blessings opens us up to joy.

Conversely, when we’re focused on competition, consumption, and those advertised promises of happiness that never deliver, we are cutting ourselves off from joy. When you’re always hankering after more, bigger, faster, shinier, newer… when you feel you have to compare yourselves to others, then you cultivate dissatisfaction and misery. It’s no way to live.

Religions exist largely to help us live well – although how that’s understood varies a great deal. Studying Druidry and following the Druid path offers us a great deal in terms of learning how to be joyful. I have tended to come at this from an angle of trying to see how to fix things, how to heal and change. I’ve realized lately that I need to focus more on the joy aspect, and on what we move towards, as well as what we’re moving away from.

I’ve learned an astonishing amount about joy in the last eighteen months or so. I’ve been startled by my own capacity for it, and by how easy it can be to open into it – in the right circumstances. How we create more joy for each other is an ongoing consideration. I think the invitation to joy was there all along, intrinsic in the Druid path, and a natural consequence of making Druidry part of your life. As I’m coming to understand this more, I should have more to share.

Joy is how we heal – ourselves, each other and our relationship with the planet. Joy is the answer, and in Druidry we can find the tools we need for more joyful living.

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