I have learned that my source of joy originates from a totally different spout than my source of happiness. Although I am not always happy, my joy endures and is always strengthened during the holiday season.

Joy is your long-term outlook on life, happiness may be part of it, but joy is there regardless of the circumstances. For me, my joy is rooted in my faith, and it sprouts from there weaving hope into every area of my life.

It is important to note that you can sustain joy in your life, and still be unhappy about things in your life.

You may not be happy with your job, your relationship, your finances, or with the government. Even still, don’t allow those circumstances to rob you of your belief within that assures you things will work out for the best. That inner belief is joy, let it remain constant and do not allow external situations to extinguish your hope for better things to come.

Happiness happens to us and is just passing through life:

• You find a great parking spot.
• You find your lost keys.
• You win a raffle.
• You land a big job.

Joy happens within us and brings meaning to life:

• You are grateful.
• You are at peace.
• You feel connected to others.
• You know you will overcome.

Joy takes work, and often comes to us through suffering. The greatest struggles we face in life can ultimately provide us with the greatest amount of joy.

Thanksgiving Day is just ahead. The word thanksgiving is defined as; an expression of gratitude. A synonym of gratitude is indebtedness.

So, if you want to get technical; Thanksgiving Day is a time to express to those in your life how grateful you are to them for doing things for you that you cannot repay.

We all owe something to others, and there is no better time than the holiday season to tell someone, “Hey, I owe you a lot. Thanks.”

Sure, I am grateful, but probably not enough.

I have a 1 ½ -year-old niece that is plump and happy in the best way possible. Her little life thus far has been full of chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and surgery. That is all she knows. She has spent more time in the hospital in her short lifetime than I have in my 58 years of living.

She has already dealt with more adversity than I can even imagine. Even though this time of her life she most likely will not remember, her family will never forget the lessons they have learned from her unfiltered joy.

You do not have to ask her parents twice what the most important thing in life is, they know because they have lived it. There is nothing happy about learning your baby girl has cancer and all of the uncertainties that go with that experience.

But her parents’ joy was unwavering. When your world comes to a completes halt, you are going to lean on something, they chose to lean on their source of joy.

Without question they were scared at times, we all were, but their joy remained, and was even strengthened during the unhappiest time of their life.

Not even a scary diagnosis from a team of doctors could steal away their knowing that everything was going to be ok, and it is. See, joy has room for other emotions, happiness does not.

Why did she get cancer at such a young age? Why did she have to endure all those treatments before she had her second birthday? I have no clue. Life just does not make sense at times and hoping for a better past is futile.

She has two rollicking brothers that love and protect her fiercely. If those two boys completely understood what their little sister was having to endure, they would insist on taking the cancer treatments for her.

Joy is present in their home because they have transformed difficult circumstances into blessings and turned heartache into gratitude. That family will be unstoppable.

I am indebted to that little girl because she has shown mind-boggling strength and resilience. Even though she has yet to reach her second birthday, I owe her a lot. I look forward to telling her someday just how special she is.

Look around the table on Thanksgiving Day, there you will find your sources of happiness. Then look a little deeper, beyond the conversations and pumpkin pie, look within, and you will find your true source of Joy.

Happy Thanksgiving –

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Todd Howey is a columnist for BrownwoodNews.com whose articles will appear on Fridays.

Joy is rooted in hope for yourself and others. Joy blossoms when shared with those you love.

Happiness comes and goes, joy remains.