~~There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere and of leaving it behind them when they go.~~ Frederick Faber
Do you know someone like this? I do. There are elders here who have that gift!! My daughter has the gift. One of the students I teach at the jail has the gift. Some foster children I worked with have the gift. One of my dearest friends who left this world behind had the gift.
It doesn't take money. It doesn't take a college degree. It doesn't take that 'perfect' life.
It takes you. It takes you letting go of the worry...of the stress...of the heartache and embracing the fact that you are alive. Realizing you have yet another day. Another day to make things right. Another day to try your best. Another day to be grateful.
Finding joy doesn't mean that hard times avoid you. It means going through hard times knowing they, too, will end. It doesn't mean that there are no feelings of loss. It means feeling the loss knowing the memories of love.
Finding joy isn't living with your head in the clouds or not being able to face reality. It is a heart that gives little bursts of happiness even in darker times. It is serenity in a storm. It is learning how to skip when it took so much effort to even crawl.
If only every soul on earth had that gift of finding joy everywhere!! We all could if we tried, I suppose. But I thank those to whom finding joy comes so naturally. You give hope. You give light. You give a reflection of what life can be like.
