In an exchange of new year’s wishes, another writer wished our group ‘joyous rebellion’. The phrase rolled around my head like a glorious pinball. I loved the idea of looking for and creating joy in unexpected places as an act of transformation.

I’ve previously written about the unstubbed toe – that our attention naturally goes to the source of pain but we can also seek out the parts that quietly feel good and strong and hold us up. We can find delight in the most fleeting of moments and, even more liberating, for no reason at all. Joy isn’t just a reaction, it’s a natural internal state we can cultivate.

If the body can hold trauma – and there’s a growing body of evidence that it can – then it stands to reason, the body can also hold love and joy and experiences of safety. But if we only look for trauma, that is what we’ll find.

If we can pay attention to acts of microaggression – and enough small cuts can wound deeply – then we can also be alert for the acts of microkindness and microdelight that also surround us.

If we feel like we’re drowning in stories of selfishness and cruelty – and there seems to be a lot of both going around – then we can also seek out, and engage in, the acts of generosity and love that quietly go about their business and enrich our lives along the way.

We can look for positive energy in the light and sweet and tender places. But we can also look for it in the dark. In a world of fear-based headlines and clickbait and conspiracy theories to keep us engaged with panic and dread, seeking out and sharing joy is one of the most beautifully radical acts we can do.