Most of us carry some amount of trauma and trauma response with us, even if we don’t realize it. Traumas aren’t always as easily diagnosed as X, Y, or Z, and can even be sourced from general social structures, such as the negative impacts of capitalism or of certain social norms that haven’t held space for us. Lesser known or appreciated, however, is the growth that can be found through healing from trauma and using the challenges in our lives as a springboard for positive transformation. Unlike the negative effects of trauma, these positive responses aren’t typically immediate, and often take years or lifetimes to grow and fruit, although they can be helped along through mindfulness work and the power of our God-given presence. Similarly, our earth is now poised to continue its plunge into humanmade disaster through global warming and our negative transformation of ecosystems, or we can accept this earthly trauma as an opportunity to wake up and engage with our natural selves and world to create a time of growth and positive transformation we can hardly imagine.

Celebrating the moment isn’t always easy, indeed, many of us have difficulty entering the moment, let alone celebrating it. And yet, this practice of intentionally celebrating all the gifts in our lives, especially as we receive them in this very moment, is a powerful tool to help us connect with joy, our intrinsic peace, and the abundance of the Spirit known by many names that empowers each of us. With our world in sometimes seeming disarray, it can be hard to find an excuse to celebrate, which is why coming together as family and friends can be such a wonderous, transformative thing because it helps us to find that inner jubilee. Indeed, if we are to surmount the issues facing us, we must learn to celebrate the natural wonders of humanity and the earth and allow that joy to bring us into presence and to the leading and healing of the Spirit.