Joy Is Something We Choose

Santa

In December, just as the last stubborn leaves skitter across the sidewalks of historic Eureka Springs, I feel it that quiet shiver of magic that hums beneath the surface of everything. It’s the same tingle I felt the first time I watched the Basin Park tree flicker to life, a thousand tiny bulbs bursting into being as though the night sky had dropped down to wrap our little Ozark town in a warm, celestial hug.

These days, when winter rolls in on a whisper, settling itself lazily against the Victorian rooftops and the winding streets of this mountainside village, I’ve learned to see a simple truth:

Joy isn’t something we stumble upon. Joy is something we choose. Every day. Every hour. Every moment.

And that, dear friend, is what this holiday season is really about.

We are all simply one decision away from shifting the trajectory of our lives.

We are powerful beings.

We are all here to experience joy.

Choose joy.

The world likes to make life complicated, especially these days, it seems. But, when the holiday season rolls around, bringing with it, planning and logistics, lists, shopping, cooking and baking along with the other day-to-day life happenings the illusion that joy is often seen as an optional accessory, a luxury item we tuck into the cart after we’ve handled everything else.

Please allow me to take this moment to remind you:

Joy isn’t an afterthought. Joy is the through line.

And sometimes joy begins with a single, brave, quiet decision: "In this moment, I choose joy."

One holiday reminder that stuck with me (and with people everywhere who saw it, I'm sure) was Amazon's “Joy Ride” Christmas ad. In this touching 60-second story, three lifelong friends find their way back to the snow-covered hilltop of their youth.

Seated on a bench, watching children glide down the slope and feeling the stirrings of wistful delight, one friend has a spark of inspiration. A quick scroll through her phone, a thoughtful purchase (Amazon, of course,) and suddenly, BAM they’re back at it again, laughing and sledding like they did so many years ago.

Through stolen glances and shared laughter, they’re reminded that fun isn’t limited by age.

As I look back on the nearly 20 years spent alongside my partner Jeff, my heart reminds me that he teaches me everyday that life, in its most beautiful form, is best lived with other hearts alongside our own. Well, you can imagine when I saw this "Joy Ride" ad, which incidentally is also set to the tender strains of The Beatles’ “In My Life," I needed to find the nearest Kleenex box.

Kudos to Amazon not just for the clever storytelling, or for the simplicity, and nostalgia, but the bold invitation to relive joy, and make new memories with the people who matter most, right now. Just make the choice. Choose joy and then live it.

We Are All Here To Experience Joy

I really believe that this is a human truth that we forgot somewhere along the way.

I often think about the simple, radical fact that joy is our natural state. It is the state in which we were born before anyone told us we had to earn it, justify it, or make room for it between obligations.

When you watch a child play, you see it immediately: the unedited joy of being alive. There’s no contemplation of to-do lists, no analysis of productivity, no debate over whether they’ve deserved this moment of delight.

They simply exist; and in their existence, they revel.

Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, many of us slowly shut that door.

We replaced wonder with worry. Spontaneity with scheduling. Joy with justification.

Yet joy (real joy) doesn’t vanish. It waits.

And it waits with the patience of a mountain covered in snow.

I’ve felt it here in the Ozarks more times than I can count, especially during the holidays.

When you walk these narrow streets here in Eureka Springs in December, you remember:

Life isn’t meant to be survived.

It’s meant to be savored.

This Town Practically Winks At You

The twinkle lights strung across the shops on Spring Street aren’t just decoration, they’re reminders. Invitations. Gentle nudges toward presence. Toward wonder. Toward choosing joy, even in small, delicious sips.

Because joy isn’t something we chase.

It’s something we allow.

And every holiday season is your invitation to welcome more joy into your life.

Here’s a holiday secret:

Most people aren’t actually afraid of failure. They’re afraid of joy.

Yes. Joy.

Afraid of it.

Suspicious of it.

Worried it won’t last.

But joy doesn’t need longevity to be worthwhile.

Joy doesn’t need permanence to be valid.

Joy is a present-tense experience.

Here in Eureka Springs, joy is everywhere. In the wreaths hanging proudly from Victorian porches. In the laughter echoing down Center Street. In the hand-dipped chocolates at Sweet’s Fudge Shoppe. In the quiet, rustling hush of the forest just beyond town limits.

This place doesn’t simply celebrate Christmas.

It becomes Christmas.

Welcome to Eureka Springs, my friends. All the joy is here and so are you.

Choose wisely and enjoy!❤️