The Sound of Joy

Growing up my parents loved being with friends. Deep in my Heart is the very distinct sound of people talking, laughing and cards slapping… As a kid, it would often be as I drifted off to sleep feeling deeply comfortable.

I am currently gathered with 20 friends for 4 days. We are at the beautiful house and property of one of those friends on Lopez Island, Washington State. This video is the sound of 8 or 9 people in the kitchen making brunch. I have been sitting here writing while this sound washes over and through me… My Heart is puuurrring with contentment. This lusciously nourishes my Heart & Spirit.

During the pandemic years, we all had some level of grief and loss. Isolation tended to be a core difficulty for most of us. Loss sometimes can become most apparent with time and with perspective. For well over 2 years I rarely had the nourishing joy of gathering with friends.

It’s too easy to take simple joy for granted. The pandemic revealed, in a contrary way due to their absence, some of the precious sources of nourishment in our life we may have taken for granted. The ripples through our wellbeing of the absence of simple joy and the resultant grief cannot be discounted.

The first powerful step in moving through and integrating grief and loss is recognition. Acknowledging what was lost… Is allowing ourselves to grieve.

The reflective gift that can rise through grief is Gratitude. We have talked this weekend about the preciousness of our connection and each others companionship. Especially the irreplaceable experience of being together in person and human touch. I am allowing this exquisite delight to flow through me… Filling my Heart… Enlivening my Spirit… I Bow in Gratitude…