Live each moment in a rampage of appreciation.
—Wayne Dyer
A Note from Ruth
Dear Friends,
This week I’m breaking with our usual format and writing you a note instead. Yesterday was Thanksgiving in the U.S. My heart is light, which is unexpected.
For many years, I fortified my heart, mind, and spirit so I could find delight and goodness in the middle of a rocky journey. I held on to gritty celebrations with white-knuckled fists. I found gratitude with fierce determination.
This is not to say that I ignored the hard parts of life. I was simply relentlessly stubborn about finding moments to claim joy. My heart was heavy, my body was exhausted, and my spirit was tattered.
We all have our own stories of seasons when things are less than idyllic. The wayward daughter, the aging father, the grieving best friend. Sometimes one rocky path spirals to another hardship followed by an unexpected, heartbreaking blow.
The holidays arrive, and it can feel like everyone else has a perfect life, while you visit your 12-year-old daughter in a locked facility and eat turkey and mashed potatoes on a cardboard plate with a plastic spoon. (Forks and knives were not allowed.) Your family sits shoulder to shoulder on plastic seats attached to a cafeteria table.
At least that is my story of one Thanksgiving meal. We drove three hours and were ushered into a gray room with tables. Our daughter sat alone at a table reserved for our family. I walked over to her, and our other kids followed like a row of ducks, with Andy at the end. She gave us stiff hugs, and led us through the food line.
No one knew where to look. No one knew what to say. She ate loudly, shoveling big spoonfuls of food into her mouth, and some gravy dropped on her facility-issued jumpsuit. She belched, and fisted a dinner roll.
It was uncomfortable. It didn’t feel fair. The rest of us pushed food around our plates until it was time to go. Because of the holiday, we had a one-hour visit. It felt like it would never end.
In the car, one of the kids said, “That sucked.”
I didn’t have my usual energy to correct the blunt statement, and before I could respond, Andy agreed. “Yeah, it did,” he said. “We weren’t there for a fun time. We were there so Stephanie would know we love her and she didn’t have to be without family today. Did you see that table of residents who didn’t have anyone show up for them today? Sometimes you show up even when it sucks.”
I don’t know how heavy your heart is this holiday season, but I do know that I’ve never been disappointed with the result when I’ve hunted for the gritty celebration among the rubble.
Shine on,
Ruth Ayres
Editor in Chief
Quote It:
No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.
—Helen Keller
That’s all for this week!
