How dare you be joyful at times like this!
In this moment of chaos, cruelty, heartbreak, and rage, it’s easy to feel like talking about joy is a tone-deaf exercise in toxic positivity. How on earth can we justify cultivating joy in the face of so much suffering?
I think the answer is, not only is it appropriate to cultivate joy, resilience and inner peace right now, it’s urgent.
In “The Book of Joy,” Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote: “Discovering more joy does not, I’m sorry to say, save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak. In fact, we may cry more easily, but we will laugh more easily too. Perhaps we are just more alive. Yet as we discover more joy, we can face suffering in a way that ennobles rather than embitters. We have hardship without becoming hard. We have heartbreak without being broken.”
In our six-week course on Mindful Self-Compassion that begins on March 26th, Cultivating Leadership’s Rebecca Scott and I unapologetically offer ways to cultivate joy, clarity, and self-acceptance. We do this not so we can anesthetize ourselves, but so we can find the presence, the courage and the will to keep pressing forward despite, well, everything.
Registration is limited to 20 people. And for a short time you can sign up for half price. Use promo code MSC50 to get 50% off
Sign up here and grab your space.
You’ll learn to notice joy and peace in everyday life, in large and small ways. And you’ll learn that joy is not the same as happiness. It is not a fleeting moment of pleasure or the denial of difficulty or a spasm of toxic positivity. Joy in particular has a deeper resonance—a sense of awe, wonder, or presence that acknowledges the full spectrum of human experience. It is the ability to hold both sorrow and delight simultaneously, embracing the bittersweet nature of life. It stabilizes us so we can face the horrors of the day without drowning in them.
“Happiness,” J.D. Salinger wrote, ”is a solid and joy is a liquid..” Joy flows. It energizes. It animates.
It takes courage to cultivate joy right now. To smile, to laugh, to marvel at a sunset or a child’s giggles—these are not trivial acts or cheap forms of numbing. They are defiant acts of hope, acts that remind us of what we are fighting for.
Joy also fuels the work of change. Activists, coaches, caregivers, and leaders often face burnout because they’re consumed by the weight of the world’s problems. Joy is a source of restoration, a reminder of why the struggle matters. It protects us from drowning.
So, if you feel guilty about finding joy when the poo is hitting the fan, remember: Joy is not an escape; it’s a tool for survival, a form of defiance. It’s not tone-deaf; it’s deeply attuned to the human spirit. Joy does not trivialize suffering; it honors it by reminding us that life is still worth celebrating. And it helps keep our batteries charged for the challenges ahead.
Joy is not only appropriate right now—it’s more essential than ever.