issue one
Celebration
By Joseph Soares
I want to take a moment to celebrate the things we didn't used to think were worth celebrating, but came to be special to us as we got older: having a disagreement with a partner without anyone yelling, being able to finally pay the bills on time, having food in the fridge, your dad retiring. These are all things worth celebrating.
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There is a festival in northern Thailand called the Yi Peng Lantern Festival. It is a festive event which has its roots in the Lanna Kingdom in the late 13th century. The festival was originally celebrated to mark the end of the monsoon season and the beginning of the cool season.
The thousands of festival attendees release beautiful lanterns into the air.
In addition to welcoming the cool season, Yi Peng Lantern Festival is also celebrated as a way to release negative energy and wish for good luck and fortune in the coming year. The festival is also one of the traditions in which the Thai can honor the Buddha in order to gain merit.
I'm having trouble trying to articulate what I'm imagining, but mentally and spiritually I'm having my very own Yi Peng Lantern Festival. Every moment I am grateful for and think is worth celebrating is represented by a lantern like the ones at the festival. There are hundreds, thousands of these moments. Lanterns populating the sky. This is what I try to picture at night before I go to bed.
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I have a friend who lives in another city. We met in the fourth grade. I've been at every one of her birthdays since, but I couldn't make it this year. I was sad I was going to miss it, but we made an effort to put some time aside to talk on the phone. It was so nice to talk to her. Being able to wish her happy birthday and hear about her life over the phone made me so grateful. It was a moment of celebration. A celebration of making it another year, and a celebration of friendship.
There are so many things in life that we don't have control over. We barely have control over the present moment, let alone the past or future. We can't control others, or the ways they perceive us. We can try, but we can't control external things, such as money, power, or fame. These things will always be fleeting and in danger.
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What we can control, in order to live a happier life, is how we appreciate each moment. Finding more reasons to celebrate is taking control of our happiness.
That's why I try to celebrate the little things. Like a great talk on the phone with a friend. A good cappuccino from my favorite coffee shop. My dad taking a "sick day" to go fishing. These are all things I cherish and they brighten my life. They make the hard times worthwhile.
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