Jenny's Chatroom 3

The Christmas Carol “Joy to the World” is one of my favourites. An offering to the world to experience Joy;  I don’t need to make a case for why you need Joy because it’s something everybody aspires to have, and most of us pursue it and seek after it. But one thing which I have misunderstood for many years is that Joy is the same thing as Happiness.  I believed that joy is a constant flow of happy moments flowing into my heart to fulfil an insatiable desire for more. A bit like Oliver Twist in the Charles Dickens book, where in the parish workhouse when Oliver fronted up to  Bumble the Beadle to ask for more gruel saying, 'Please, sir, I want some more.' 

However I have learnt that Joy is qualitatively different from what Happiness is. Pure authentic, unmitigated Joy is sensing consolation, encouragement, comfort and a sense of completed rescue. Whereas Happiness is based on experiences that find themselves in a sense temporary, and of course not bad in themselves, but they pass. And of course I want you to have many happy experiences this Christmas and moments that you will be exceeding grateful for. Things such as good food, good presents, and good company with precious family and friends.

Joy on the other hand is something the human heart seeks after that is greater, deeper, and more enduring than Happiness. This Joy is what I hope you can find and have access to this Christmas that will supersede the tough times we have experienced this year and the temporary fillings of Happiness. 

Thanks for the times we have shared this year through the happy and often difficult. My hope is that you have many Happy times during this holiday season that will store up in your treasury of memories but more than that, that you will find deep authentic, unmitigated Joy.

Yours Most Sincerely

Jenny Celle 

Chaplain to Huntingdale Primary School