As soon as December hits, the word ‘joy’ shows up everywhere. But, with so many not feeling very joyful, perhaps trying their darndest to fake it, I wanted to take a deep dive into someone who is a genuine joy master.
Going through my list of contacts, one name stood out: Santa Claus.
Reaching out to his “people,” I was honored a rare, in-depth Zoom interview with this iconic, extremely busy, nonetheless always jolly fellow.
Dashing through some internet challenges, as well disturbing his reindeer feeding time, we had quite a merry discussion. Enjoy!
“Mr. Claus, or St. Nick, can I call you Santa?”
“Santa is fine…” He replies, ending with an emphatic ho-ho-ho.
“Great! So, Santa, although we only focus on you once a year, from what I can tell you seem joyful all the time. Could you please explain joy to our readers?”
“Thank you for interviewing me! This is my very first Zoom call -- can you hear me?”
“Yes, you’re coming through loud and clear, but your image keeps freezing. Maybe because it’s so cold in the North Pole?”
“Could be, but let me adjust my settings.” He clicks some buttons with fur-gloved fingers.
“Is that better?” Even dealing with computer glitches, Santa never loses that famous twinkle in his eye.
“Yes, I can see you now!” The rumors about his perpetual rosy cheeks proved accurate.
“Good! So, here’s what I have to say about joy. It’s an inner state that doesn’t need anything external to exist. It’s different from happiness that needs things and people and experiences to be felt. But joy is subtle, without drama, completely different from the giddy, exhilaration of happiness. It’s ho-ho-ho as opposed to wheeeee!”
Santa's analogy is perfect, and he pats his bowl-of-jelly-belly proudly.
“Am I correct in understanding that happiness is like getting a long-desired present but, soon after, life is about the same as before?”
“Yes, great example. But, to be clear, there’s nothing wrong with happiness,” Mr. Claus continues. “It’s just that, you can’t ever get enough things to make it stay. It’s like an addiction -- the more you desperately try to hold onto it, it slips away like melting snow.” He grabs one of several cookies sitting on a tree-shaped platter and takes a huge bite.
“Joy is actually our natural state,” he continues, washing down his cookie with a gulp of steaming hot chocolate. “You see it in young children playing with abandon, not caring about acceptance or approval. They don’t try to hold onto joy since it’s just who they are.”
He wipes his mouth with the tip of his fluffy white beard.
Watching Santa devour the rest of his cookie is making my mouth water, but I continue interviewing professionally.
“Sounds like you’re saying that joy is what really matters, right? But how do you find joy?”
“Joy happens when you give compassionately or help selflessly, without expectation of return,” he pauses, “except maybe some occasional cookies and milk,” he adds, using his the fur on his sleeve to wipe stray crumbs off his beard.
“I find that joy is there even when you're doing something mundane – like cleaning up the toy workshop or sitting quietly with Mrs. Claus by a roaring fire or feeding my reindeer. Which reminds me….”
The interview pauses while Santa fills his eight hungry reindeers’ troughs with fresh grass. I could be wrong, but it seems he gives Rudolph a bit more than the others.
When he returns, another question comes to me: “Santa, do you ever feel joy spontaneously?”
“Oh, yes, all the time! Especially when I least expect it. Like when reading letters kids write me, noticing Rudolph’s glowing red nose against the sunset, or eating one more plate of homemade cookies someone left for me.”
He continues: “But the deepest, unalterable joy happens when living a meaningful life, doing things that feel like what you’re meant to do -- aligning with your passion and not letting anything get in the way. Like never doubting that I can deliver presents all over the world in one night.”
Yes, of course Santa.
Since our Zoom connection is still working, I decide to go deeper.
“Santa, many of my readers would love your advice about how you get to joy. Is there some secret you can share?”
“Like I said, joy is an internal state of being, so the more you struggle to find ways to spark it, the more it eludes you."
Suddenly, Santa seemed to be rushing, but he continued.
"The more joy you feel about just being yourself, the more it naturally expands. When you start noticing the little things, and really listen to others, the more joy you’ll feel.”
Such wisdom. But I was compelled to ask a personal question based on my own pet peeve.
“As a spiritual teacher, I find that some disciplines encourage people to ‘just choose joy’ or ‘fake it until you make it.’ But, from what I’ve seen, as long as the programmed, fear-based consciousness is in charge, that’s just one more way to suppress ourselves and become inauthentic. What can you tell me about that, Santa?”
“Ahhh, yes, joy cannot be faked. It must come from a real place, a place of not needing approval or acceptance or having expectations demanding how things have to be. Like I sure don’t care about my jiggly waistline or whether people believe in me, right?”
Clearly, this was not your average jolly 'old soul.' He had certainly attained Higher Consciousness. So I ask if he practiced any spiritual disciplines to get so evolved.
“Well actually, I’ve learned to always trust and follow my inner wisdom and just come from love. I’m constantly mindfully ‘present!’” He has a good guffaw at his play on words.
“That’s all I do, really. Oh, and the spiritual connection I have with Mrs. Claus helps me with inner work if I ever feel a bit bah-humbuggy. Honestly, I don’t take things too seriously which really helps!”
There’s a crackling sound as his internet goes down. And, with a fading ho-ho-ho his cherry nose disappears into cyberspace.
Listening to Santa has proven he’s the personification of authentic joy. I toyed with the idea that he had achieved this state by resolving lifetimes of subconscious fear, clearing out programmed false beliefs (except believing in him, of course), and cleaning up guilt carried from lifetime to lifetime.
Or perhaps he’s just one of those rare pure souls who somehow never lost connection with Spirit.
We may never know.
So, to all of you reading this, Santa and I both wish you the True Joy you deserve this holiday season and all ways.
Now, excuse me while I go get a cookie!
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Royce Morales, a renowned transformational facilitator, developer and teacher of Perfect Life Awakening, offers her unique breakthrough tools to discover and resolve the roots of negative, self-sabotaging, inner programming. This work awakens and transforms you by overcoming limiting beliefs, shifting your consciousness and resolving what's keeping you from a life of deservingness and true joy.
Royce offers remote group classes, an e-course and private inner journey sessions using her empowering spiritual clearing techniques.
Contact Royce for a free fifteen minute consultation to see if this inner-journey work is a good fit.
Royce is the author of three fascinating books about her teachings: “Want: True love, past lives and other complications;” “Know: A spiritual wake-up call;” and “Back: Rebirth After Stroke,” all available on amazon.com
Her website is www.RoyceMorales.com and Twitter is @RoyceMorales. She can be reached at LvsreaL@aol.com