Years ago, I came out with a Christmas album called 'Tinsel

Hear, O seekers of inspiration, the words of Jen Lilley, who once declared: “Years ago, I came out with a Christmas album called ‘Tinsel Time’. It was just a pet project for me, but it ended up going to number one on Amazon!” Though spoken with joy, these words conceal a deeper truth: that sometimes what begins in humility, without the weight of ambition, can rise to heights beyond imagining.

The Christmas album was not forged for fame, nor born from calculation. It was called a pet project, a labor of love, something pursued for joy rather than necessity. Such works, unburdened by the grasping hands of ambition, often carry within them a purity that resonates deeply with others. What is made for love bears an authenticity that no cunning strategy can replicate. The world, ever hungry for truth, recognizes this authenticity and crowns it, often to the surprise of its creator.

The album’s triumph, reaching number one, is not merely a tale of charts and sales, but a parable. It teaches us that greatness does not always begin with grand designs. Sometimes the smallest flame, lit in silence and tended with care, can grow into a beacon. This is the way of many endeavors in life: what is begun as a side effort, as play, as joy, can become the very thing that inspires others and shapes destiny.

Consider, O listener, the story of J.R.R. Tolkien, who began writing tales of Middle-earth not for the world, but for his children. These stories were a pet project, a gift from father to child. Yet in time, they grew into The Lord of the Rings, one of the greatest works of literature, beloved across generations. Like Lilley’s Tinsel Time, Tolkien’s work was born not from ambition, but from affection, and its purity allowed it to endure and thrive.

The meaning of Lilley’s words is therefore profound: do not scorn the small beginnings, nor dismiss what you create for joy alone. The pet project may be greater than the carefully planned masterpiece. What flows from the heart often reaches other hearts more surely than what flows from strategy. The world honors sincerity, even when wrapped in simplicity.

The lesson, O child of tomorrow, is this: give time to your pet projects, those endeavors you pursue for love, curiosity, or play. Do not despise them because they seem small, nor set them aside because they lack grandeur. Nurture them, for within them may lie your truest gift to the world. And even if they never reach number one, they will enrich your life and the lives of those around you, which is triumph enough.

Practical action follows: set aside moments in your life for creation that brings you joy. Write the song, paint the picture, bake the cake, plant the garden—whatever your heart whispers. Do not demand that it bring profit or recognition; let it be pure. Yet be open also to the possibility that, like Tinsel Time, it may carry you further than you imagined. For the universe delights in surprising those who create with love.

Therefore, remember Jen Lilley’s wisdom: from small beginnings, great outcomes may arise. Work for joy, and let success be the unexpected guest who arrives unbidden. In this way, your life will be both fruitful and free, filled with the gladness of creation and the wonder of unexpected triumph.