Joy is not in things; it is in us.

– Richard Wagner

Listen to the clues. The next time you feel real joy, stop and think. Pay attention. Because joy is the universe's way of knocking on your mind's door. Hello in there. Is anyone home? Can I leave a message? Yes? Good! The message is that you are happy, and that means that you are in touch with your purpose.

-Steve Chandler

One evening, many years ago, I was spending a quiet evening at home with a beloved friend. We were watching a movie and I was nestled quietly in his arms. Quite unexpectedly, a sense of great joy and peace surged through my body. I remember thinking then that I was at the center of my being, that there was nowhere else I'd rather be at that moment, and that if I died right then and there, I would feel happy and complete. He noticed the expression on my face, commented on it, and asked about it. I had no words to adequately explain or describe it. I merely said, "I am feeling peaceful and content."

Later, as I reflected on that evening, I came to understand the clue, the message, that the universe was sending - that my purpose, and deepest joy, was about love and a deep connection to others. I have been given that message before - and since - but not in quite such a visceral way. Today, I would describe that feeling sensation as bliss.

As our theme quote by Steve Chandler reminds us, "... joy is the universe's way of knocking on your mind's door.... The message is that you are happy, and that means that you are in touch with your purpose."

So, I ask you: What brings you joy? And what does that joy tell you about your deepest purpose in life?

Beginning with Thanksgiving, we are launched into a long season of holiday celebrations including Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and Chinese New Year. Even with this long list, I'm sure I have left something out! And whether or not we celebrate any, or all, of these holidays, we are, due to the everpresent and inescapable media, caught up in them nonetheless.

Many of these holidays originated as festivals designed to combat the darkness and cold of northern hemisphere winters with lights, feasting, dancing, singing, and merriment. Although all of these holidays were, and are, intended to be joyful celebrations, they are not always experienced that way. In today's world, in most of the United States, at least, these holidays have often turned into times of upset and stress, creating a host of challenges including loneliness, sadness, family and relationship upsets, financial stress, time pressures, and mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion.

The question is, how can we reverse this situation and bring back the joy, light, and merriment that these holidays were originally intended to evoke?

I have some ideas. Perhaps you do too?

• Simplify, simplify, simplify! Streamline holiday routines and customs. Preserve the most meaningful pieces and let go of the rest.
• Pare down your gift list. Give fewer gifts, less extravagant gifts. When you do give gifts, give ones that come from the heart and are meaningful to the receiver. Consider giving of your time or your talents instead of giving a material gift. Write a poem or song. Draw or paint a picture or make something with your own hand. Offer your services as a gift: baby- sitting, cooking, cleaning, pet-sitting, computer help, and the like.
• Focus on spending quality time with family, friends, neighbors, and business associates. Your focused time and attention is a precious gift.
• Share the work of holiday gatherings. Invite people to help decorate, cook, prepare, and clean up. And keep it simple.
• Attend concerts, plays, pageants, parades, and other amusements of the season.
• Take a quiet walk in nature, perhaps in the snow. Breathe deeply and celebrate the beauty of nature and of the season.
• Take time to enjoy the ambience of the season. Notice the colorful lights, beautiful decorations, the festive music of the season.
• Find ways to sing, dance, and make merry, alone and with others. Listen to holiday music and sing along. Go caroling. Read and listen to holiday stories. Play games. Watch funny movies. Tickle someone's funnybone.
• Sit quietly with a cup of tea and enjoy your surroundings.
• Reach out to those who are lonely or struggling and focus on bringing light and laughter to their lives.

How will you re-create your holiday season to reduce the stress and increase the joy, for yourself and your loved ones?

I would love to hear your ideas, suggestions, and stories. Feel free to share them by emailing me at connie@conniekomack.com.

Have a merry and joyful holiday season!!!

What does the act of letting go have to do with the experience of joy?

Let's take singing, for example. I love to sing, yet sometimes I can get buried in the technique and caught up in feelings of self-consciousness and a need to get it right.

Recently, through the process of reheasing for, and then performing, choral selections from Handel's Messiah, I made the decision to let go of the need to be right, or perfect, or to be self-conscious about my mistakes, and to just immerse myself in singing for the fun of it. From that letting go came, ultimately, a great sense of joy.

In my Blog article, The Letting Go Experiment: Month 5, I explore the connection between letting go and joy, in the context of singing, as well as providing an update on this year-long experiment.

We all know that our bodies need exercise on a regular basis. But what about our minds? I never realized how much my mind needed exercising until recently, when I had the following experience....

Is Entrepreneurship Right For You? This is the theme of the workshop I will be facillitating for the Enterprise Center in Salem in January.

If you are considering starting your own business, but are not sure what is involved or whether or not you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur, this workshop is for you.

Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Time: 8:30-10:30am
Place: The Enterprise Center, Salem State College
Address: 121 Loring Street, Salem, MA 01970
Fee: none

For more information, or to register, visit the Enterprise Center web site at www.enterprisectr.org.
Or, contact Cathy Julien at 978-542-7528.

Winter is an ideal time to re-assess your current life or work situation and to tune up or redesign your life. Our 6-week signature program, Designing Your Life, will be offered once again on the North Shore, beginning in February.

Dates: Monday evenings, February 26 thru April 2, 2007
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Place: Beverly Senior Center, Beverly, MA
Sponsored by: Beverly Recreation Department
Fee: Not yet posted

For more information, or to register, contact Joscelyn Ruelle-Kersker at the Beverly Recreation Department.
Phone: 978-921-6067
Email: bevrec@beverlyma.gov
Web: http://www.bevrec. com/ [Note: Winter classes have not yet been posted on their site. Web postings and print brochures will be available in January.]