“This is a reminder to let you know that you are not here just to do stuff, just to perform duties and complete tasks. You are here also to feel happy, and content, and inspired and well within yourself. You are here to have some fun, create meaningful moments and find the sparkle in your eyes again. You are here to unravel the magic of being alive, the magic of being you. To heal, to feel whole again. Do something today that lights you up. That activates your joy. That brings about a genuine smile from your heart. You are worth the effort.”
— S.C. Lourie
Over the past few years, I have stood mute and helpless as several people I love have dealt with unimaginable losses.
I showed up, I expressed hollow words in an attempt to show my sincere empathy, but in the moment (as well as in the memory) I felt something akin to shame for falling short, chained by the boundaries of being human.
Our hearts break, over and over in this journey. I have read that it is nearly impossible to fully grasp the awful truth that we will lose those we love, sometimes in the most horrific of ways. If we could truly realize it, we would be immobilized for all the days of our allotted time.
So, in knowing that, we must embrace the here and now with gusto. Like a rainbow after a storm, we are constructed to enjoy laughter after immense grief.
No matter how we might fight the uphill climb, our will to live depends on doing exactly that.
There is nothing to spark joy like spending time with children who possess a zest for life in all its forms.
Today, our oldest grandson, Brooks, is celebrating a birthday, and it is stunning just how much has been accomplished in his 8 short years.
We celebrate this little fellow who is blessed with intelligence as well as incredible athletic skill, which he hones with daily practice. He works on shooting and dribbling a basketball, throwing a football with incredible spin and accuracy and swinging his bat to hit a baseball with great force.
We are joyfully here for it, every divine bit of it.
