The Soft Season: Joy as a Radical Act

It’s easy to feel like joy is a luxury. Something you earn after the work is done. But what if joy is part of the work itself? At SixDegrees.org, we believe connection is the antidote to despair. And in a world that asks us to stay informed, reactive, and productive at all times, choosing joy, especially in the midst of summer’s heat, feels almost rebellious. This season, we’re reclaiming celebration not as escape, but as sustenance.

Let’s be honest. Things feel heavy. Very heavy. Between the state of the world and the everyday pressure of doing meaningful work, joy often feels like the last thing we have time for. And in the nonprofit space, where urgency is such a deeply seated part of the culture, it’s easy to believe that rest and play are irresponsible, irrelevant, or a waste of time. But if we’re serious about sustainability for ourselves, our teams, and those we serve, we have to stop treating joy like an option.

So we are choosing joy. Not just for ourselves, but for our dedication to long-term impact. We choose joy as a refusal to go gently into the night. In our work, in this time and place, joy is the ultimate form of resistance.

Here’s the thing about joy. It isn’t always easy to find or obvious. Sometimes, it lives in a team video call where someone shares a story that sparks collective, boisterous laughter. Sometimes it shows up in the quiet after a nonprofit partner shares their mission that is deeply aligned with their personal story. We see joy as connection. It lives in the small, intentional acts of simply showing up for one another, in the laughs, the behind-the-scenes moments, and the trust it takes to hold someone’s story with care. In the sigh of relief that comes from feeling understood.

To us, joy is far from a distraction from the work. If anything, it’s embedded within the work. It is the work. It is how we stay soft in a hardened world. How we find the audacity to keep showing up, again and again, with open hearts and a willingness to be moved.

With the rest of summer ahead, and less than six months left in the year, we’re holding tight to the belief that joy builds resilience. That softness isn’t weakness. It is wisdom. And that connection, in all its messy, beautiful forms, is what keeps this essential work alive.

So, here’s your permission slip, if you need one. To rest. To laugh. To celebrate the small things. To make space for the kind of joy that doesn’t demand perfection, only presence.

We’ll be here, doing the same. Story by story. Heart by heart. All season long.