It's the last Adventword, not an order. It's also another word that leaves me wrinkling my nose.  Celebrate. It really shouldn't be an imperative. Stress, pressure, tension, baggage--they all conspire to make Special Occasions less than celebratory.And yet I love to celebrate. I live to celebrate. I only hate forced pep, not genuine joy.  Spontaneity and freedom are the key. Celebrating is not an event. It happens at a lot of celebrations, but correlation is not causation.  The verb is an action.To celebrate is to magnify happiness. Celebrating amplifies delight by sharing it.  Joy to the world, and all that. I adore that kind of celebrating. It makes life sparkle in a way that doesn't need vacuuming the way real glitter does.The flip side of the nihilist "Life has no meaning" philosophy is that life has exactly as much meaning as we give it, so why not bring life some joyous fun? Why bother celebrating? the nihilist asks. Me, I ask, why not celebrate?Anyway. Genuine glee resulting from any old occurrence or item or act is always worth broadcasting. Doesn't have to be a big thing. Give me a snack, and I will celebrate it. Just ask Spouseman about the happy food dance.(I swear I had no idea I did little chair dances when I eat until he teased me. And then I tried to stop, because attention=bad is an ingrained response, but it didn't work. Celebratory impulses will beat all restraint, even the amazing power of self-consciousness.)So anyway.Celebrating at celebration times can be hard when the associations are the opposite of joyful. But it is possible. It's worth trying and trying again. And share even the small celebrations whenever you can.  Joy has a way of being contagious in ways mere cheer can never imitate.May your days be merry and bright, and all that. It's a good blessing.

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Click here to see the global #AdventWord event/calendar I've been bending to my bloggish purposes:  AdventWordimage: epicantus via pixabay.com