By Daxx Bondoc

We live in a consumerist world where more is merrier and big is better. We believe happiness is all about the glimmer and the glamor, the excitement and the thrills.

People seem to jump from one sensation to the next in search of joy. From shopping to clubbing, parties and vacations, we seem to never get enough of them. (By the way it is amazing that people who take vacation these days need another vacation to recover from their so called vacation.)

But are we happy with what we have? Have our activities brought us joy or just plain fatigue?

The problem of looking joy in these things is, like getting drunk, the feelings are all gone the next day we wake up. And like a drunk, we start to go again in a spree. And the futile cycle goes on and on.

We all know that worldly things can never give us lasting happiness, but we all want to prove it ourselves.

And so we waste our time.

In the end, we waste our life.

So where can we find joy?

It starts with a “J” and ends in “us”.

Jesus.

Jesus is our joy, in this life and the next. But Jesus too is our guide in finding joy. His life is map to finding real and (ever) lasting happiness.

Together with the Resurrection, Christmas is the most joyful event in history. It is when Divine Joy became flesh and dwelt among us.

So how did Divine Joy entered our world?

 He did not enter the world in wealth, power and privilege. He entered poorly and humbly. The shepherd and the wise men did not found joy in the castle of Herod, but in a cave out of nowhere. They did not saw Joy wrapped in gold but in swaddling clothes. Joy is found where you least expect it.

Real joy does not come from stuff-ing yourself, nor going from one high to the next. You could have traveled around the world and only have fatigue to show. Real joy is much simpler, much closer. It is close as your neighbor. Joy is found where you least expect it.

Joy is found in doing the simplest act of love. Joy is to feed a hungry child, to visit the old and abandoned or to comfort the sick. The most joyful people I know are those who have chosen to dedicate their lives to the forgotten and powerless. Their life did not revolved in satisfying themselves but bring joy to those they serve. And amidst all the poverty and suffering they deal with everyday, they have found joy. And it is a joy that the world cannot give. Joy is found where you least expect it.

Joy is found not when you “take em’ all” but when you “give em’ all”.  The more you grab joy for yourself, the more you lose it, the more you give it away, the more it comes to you.

So find joy in love and love with joy.