I often speak of those who find ways to be happy even in difficult circumstances. I don’t want anyone to misunderstand my thinking. There are indeed times when the only reasonable response to a particular situation is profound sadness. It would seem highly inappropriate to laugh in the face of the terrorism in Belgium. We carry on with our routines when we hear of such things but that heaviness lurking in our hearts is quite normal. As humans we oscillate between good feelings and bad. Hopefully our lives are such that we don’t encounter too many tragedies at once.
This has been a tough week. My emotions have been taxed, stretched to a breaking point. I was already praying for a friend who was awaiting word regarding some medical tests that might bring her unwelcome news. I had learned that an old friend had been hospitalized. Then, of course, there were the deaths in Belgium, senseless and frightening murders. This was also the anniversary of the day when one of my former students died in a terrible car wreck only months before she would have been married. I have followed her mother’s journey through grief. I have watched as this brave woman found ways to inspire those who know her with her faith and courage. Sadly, though, I have realized that her pain lingers in spite of her best efforts. My feelings of empathy for her have been quite strong during the last few days because I understand that dates on the calendar may be triggers for thoughts that are heavy and unbearable. Continue reading “Only Human”
On March 20, 2013 the United Nations celebrated the first ever International Day of Happiness, decreeing that every human on earth has the right to pursue happiness. Sadly there is no possible way to insure that all people actually have a shot at feeling joyful, even if for only a day, but it is a noble cause. Perhaps a bit more publicity for the event might have been in order. It was promoted so quietly that I actually missed it altogether, as I suspect many did. I luckily had a most pleasant day but I wonder how many souls were too busy attempting to survive in a sometimes quite threatening world to be able to pause for twenty four hours to enjoy life the way that the UN intended?
It seems that periodically we humans as a group devolve just a bit. We temporarily lose our integrity, good manners and compassion. Those tend to be very dangerous times when we become angry and suspicious of anyone not like ourselves. We fall for arguments that blame our woes on certain groups. Somehow we aren’t as nice to one another as we ought to be. 
This did not begin as a banner morning for me. I jumped on my scale first thing, just as I have been doing for weeks, only to discover that I have somehow gained weight in the last couple of days rather than losing. So much for living off of a low calorie count of fruits and veggies and low fat meats, not to mention three mile walks each day. Next, as I ate my two hard boiled eggs and a banana I perused the news on CNN learning that Donald Trump carried the day in the latest primaries. To top it all the big rain that I was counting on for my plants didn’t seem to have materialized in my neck of the woods. We got some sturm und drang but only a smattering of precipitation. I was bummed out but determined to be the master of my own outlook on life when I saw today’s Google doodle peeking curiously out of the corner of my laptop screen. With one click I was soon grinning like a kid who had discovered a big refrigerator box in the middle of the living room. I forgot all of my temporary woes.
I’ll be the first to admit that I was not a great fan of Nancy Reagan when she was the First Lady. It wasn’t so much that I disliked her as the fact that she simply didn’t impress me. My mother, on the other hand, saw her as a quintessential woman. She was in awe of Nancy and often commented that those of us in the younger generation would do well to learn from her. My mom and Nancy were from the same generation so I suppose they understood one another more so than I was capable of doing. It was only after Nancy Reagan had left the White House that I realized what an strong and caring person she really was.
