Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness

by Ingrid Fetell Lee

One of the oldest iridescent materials is called dichroic glass, which consists of glass mixed or coated with a thin film of metal. The Romans used it in the fourth century, and NASA further developed it for the space shuttle.

Tempering magic with other aesthetics keeps it reliably on the joyous side of the line. When playing with iridescence and illusions, use elements of the energy aesthetic: keep tones light and bright. When working with mirrors, incorporate elements of harmony and play. Distortions, like the ones found in funhouse mirrors, quickly become creepy. Symmetry makes reflections feel balanced, while round edges keep them from becoming jagged or sharp.

As the English writer Eden Phillpotts once wrote, “The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.”

This emotional resonance brings us together, strengthening a community and enhancing the bonds within it. Research shows that celebrating positive events with others increases our feeling that they will be there for us if we encounter tough times in the future. And not only that, but celebrating with others boosts our own joy. People who regularly celebrate positive events with others are happier than those who keep their good news to themselves; and couples who celebrate each other’s good news are happier in their relationships.

Another idea comes from filmmaker and writer Nora Ephron, who considered a round table essential for a dinner party because it brings a group together in a single conversation. It also allows guests to see one another’s facial expressions, much the way the amphitheater-style seating did at the Oscars. A related trick is to position a large mirror in the room where you entertain most frequently. The mirror reflects the group and amplifies the joyful vibe.

In fact, just listening to music activates the motion centers of the brain, even when our bodies are still, which is why we often find ourselves snapping or tapping along to a beat without even realizing we’re doing so.

Synchrony shifts our focus away from our own needs toward the needs of the group. In large social gatherings, this can give rise to a euphoric feeling of oneness—dubbed “collective effervescence” by French sociologist Émile Durkheim—which elicits a blissful, selfless absorption within a community.

By systematically measuring the number and duration of echoes at different places in caves across France and the Ural Mountains, he confirmed that the most decorated locations also produced the most significant echoes, indicating they may have been scenes of primitive rites, chosen to amplify the group’s songs and chants.

Today, one of the most exuberant Carnivals can be found in the small island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. In the capital city of Port of Spain, rivers of dancers cloaked in fantastical costumes flood the streets, their bodies animated by lilting calypso and soca music in a local tradition known as mas. Short for “masquerade,” mas is a kind of living sculpture that exists for the sole purpose of enhancing celebration.

Still, I don’t think we realize how necessary the visceral release of a celebration like Carnival is to our well-being. Without it, it’s easy to convince ourselves that the responsible, rational, workaday persona we wear most of the time is the sum total of who we are. The regular drumbeat of celebration in primitive life served not only to connect people to one another but also to give them access to a more effusive and instinctual side of themselves.

Now, a few years later, giant balloons with big tassels have become commonplace, and Geronimo is kind of like the Kleenex of giant balloons.

Zencirli takes commissions from individuals and companies, usually to commemorate significant occasions like openings or anniversaries. But she has one firm rule: she works only in places that are visible to the public—no private homes or gardens—so that people passing by have the chance to experience the joy of her work.

The opening of the cherry blossoms, or sakura, is an occasion almost of madness in Japan. In the brief season of their bloom, a culture known for its quiet reserve opens up and becomes giddy. People throw themselves into the evanescent joy of the season, taking time off from work to gather for hanami, the traditional blossom-watching picnics that date back to the eighth century.

The Japanese are particularly good at creating moments of anticipation. Instead of having only four seasons to look forward to, they have seventy-two. The ancient Japanese calendar divides the year into a series of microseasons, each only four or five days in length, with names that capture small changes in the surrounding environment. Hibernating Creatures Open Their Doors marks the tail end of winter, followed a bit later by Leaf Insects Turn into Butterflies. In June, the Plums Turn Yellow, and in October the Geese Arrive and the Grasshopper Sings.

One of my favorite houseplants is a black oxalis, a relative of the shamrock, with purple leaves that open each morning to greet the day and close up in the evening when the sun sets.

Almost as soon as they open, the delicate blossoms begin to shed their petals. While through a Western lens, it seems this might diminish their joy, for the Japanese it actually heightens it. They have a phrase, mono no aware, that is hard to translate into English but loosely means “the gentle sadness of things.” It’s used to describe a pang of pleasure that exists alongside an awareness of its fleeting nature. It brings a strange consciousness that the intensity of joy we feel is in direct proportion to the loss soon to follow.

when the wind picked up, the petals whipped around in great clouds that the Japanese call hanafubuki, which means “flower blizzard.”

One of my favorite flowerlike designs is the Cabbage Chair by the Japanese design team Nendo. The chair arrives as a cylinder of rolled-up sheets of paper, which the owner peels back and folds down, blossoming the chair into shape.

Flattening out the top of a form, like cutting off a stem, removes the dynamic force and makes an object look more static.

The beauty of renewal is that it has its own momentum, propelled by the relentless ambition of life to endure and propagate. Life multiplies, and so does joy. The infectious quality of joy makes its dispersion as efficient as the most prolific weed. Even the smallest efforts—a painted mural, a knit cozy around a parking meter, a single flower—can be the beginning of an upward spiral that changes a community, a neighborhood, a life. To fix the world is a tall order, but to renew it is not nearly so daunting. The lesson of renewal is that from small seeds big things grow. And though I never would have suspected it eight years ago when I started writing this book, it’s not far-fetched to believe that from the seeds of our own joy, a whole world can be reborn.

ACTIVITIES AND EXPERIENCES SURPRISE Plan a trip or excursion for a friend or family member without telling them the destination Throw a surprise party Go for a walk in a (safe) city without choosing a specific destination, just following what looks interesting to you Put a joyful, temporary installation up in your neighborhood without telling anyone who did it TRANSCENDENCE Walk upstairs to get an elevated view or look out the window if you’re on a high floor Take time to gaze up at the clouds or the stars Choose a window seat when flying Go hot-air ballooning, paragliding, skiing, or mountain climbing Jump on a trampoline MAGIC Look for rainbows in water glasses and puddles Catch fireflies in summer Eat wintergreen Life Savers and watch them spark in the dark Watch a magic show or learn card tricks to dazzle your friends Fly a kite or go sailing or windsurfing Make time to look at meteor showers or eclipses CELEBRATION Break open a piñata or use sparklers or firecrackers Attend a concert, do karaoke, or go out dancing Seek out opportunities to sing and dance in groups: choirs, dance lessons, dance-based workout classes Wear festive clothes while doing errands Throw a party just because RENEWAL Watch the sunrise or sunset or look at the full moon Plan a calendar of seasonal pleasures Eat at farm-to-table restaurants or join a CSA Plant a garden or visit a botanical garden Press flowers or fall leaves to put on display