Finding Joy Amidst the Losses





December can be a hard time for many people, 
who keenly feel their life losses
 at a time when they expect to feel
nothing but joy and celebration. 


Instead of expecting holiday times to be a perpetual 
infusion of happiness,
we should learn to identify
 small, fleeting moments of joy 
in everyday things --

a stranger's smile
a surprise meeting with a friend
an outrageous pair of tennis shoes


finding a quote that resonates with our soul
seeing a beautiful thing in a store window
hearing a song that reminds us of falling in love
the hummingbird unexpectedly hovering near a window


and not wait for the staccato 
and flash of fireworks 
and the shushing sounds of angel wings
to signal joy's arrival.


For if we wait for the ruffles and flourishes
to tell us it's time to take notice,
we will have missed
a thousand little episodes of joy. 

That would be a damn shame.

And for those of us who write, 
we must learn to write 
through it all, 
the joys and sorrows, 
highs and humdrums.

We need to write 
whether or not anyone finds our words
and remarks on them.

If we are writers,
that is our calling. 
We must write the words
that express our truth. 

Comments

Anonymous said…
i agree. nothing like writing, is there. feeds the soul.
deb did it said…
and I am so blessed to know you, your truth and to read you. Thank you Meri.
Miss Robyn said…
I followed you from my friend AnnieElf's blog.. can I join in the Finding the joy Thursday?
Anonymous said…
nicely written, and great advice. joy comes most often when I least expect it - and almost always it's in things that others might find insignificant...
ellen abbott said…
You are so right. One of the things I dislike about the holiday season is that unrealistic expectation of perfect and pure joy and happiness and that if we don't feel that then there is something wrong, not with the hype that supports that idea, but with you, the one not getting it. I especially hate it when some tragedy happens to someone during this time that people always think and say that it is more tragic because it happened at this time of year. Really? I don't think anyone of those folks who suffer tragedy would say that if only it had happened at a different time it would be easier to bear. I know my BIL's imminent death in the coming weeks would be just as painful no matter what season it happened in and the last thing on my sister's mind is christmas.

Sorry. didn't mean to rant.
Naquillity said…
i find myself waking up from my writer's block slowly. but surely i'm starting to write in small blocks again,:)

i love what you've said about finding the small things in life to be happy about. i've always lived that way.

that glass piece you blew two posts down is beautiful.

hope all is well. have a great night~
Unknown said…
I would like to add that writing not only feeds my soul, but it unburdens my soul and frees it as well.
Beautifully said! I've been thinking about how I could encourage people who are feeling their losses at this time.... but you've said it so perfectly.

So I'm sharing a snippet of your posting and the link so my readers can be blessed by your beautiful words too!

Glimpses of heaven... found some right here!
PS. Here's the link to the page I used your quote:

http://beautiful.wordfromhome.com/p/advent-restoring-joy.html

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