Ryan Urie asks how can we be joyful when our country is so divided, the planet is warming out of control, our democracy has been coopted by wealth, and wars are raging across the globe? Because, he says, times have been this bad before, and historically joy is what redeems life’s inevitable struggles.

I need reminders like this. Joy can be a steady, resilient force. It can help us endure hard times and still respond with compassion and hope.

Urie comes to this view as an openly liberal person living in a very conservative (“deep-red”) state—Idaho. For him, joy isn’t something that shows up only when life is good. It’s the starting point, a refuge we can choose and nurture even in the middle of difficulty.

"Joy is not something to be sought. It’s absolutely everywhere, if we pay attention as children do. We’re often exhorted to make an effort to be grateful (Keep a gratitude journal! Make a daily gratitude practice!), but joy and gratitude cannot be forced. Rather, when you take time to notice and savor the good already in your life, the beauty in small things, gratitude emerges effortlessly and joy with it."

ESSAY: Finding Joy in Dark Times

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