Finding Light in Joy, Week 3, Day 3

Linda
Dec 16, 2022
2 min read

Advent can be a difficult and lonely time for people. It is a time when many commit suicide or suffer from depression and despair. Grief is a common emotion during the holidays. It is often a time to miss loved ones who are no longer with us. Perhaps it is the first Christmas since a loved one died or there has been a different type of separation.

Peter Levine, psychologist and trauma expert, states that "joy is an experience of expansion, whereas fear is one of deep contraction." Cultivating joy strengthens us to face difficulties. Overwhelming emotions of sorrow become less as we savor the tiniest moments of joy.

"We need to remind each other that the cup of sorrow is also the cup of joy, that precisely what causes us sadness can become the fertile ground for gladness. Indeed, we need to be angels for each other, to give each other strength and consolation. Because only when we fully realize that the cup of life is not only a cup of sorrow but also a cup of joy will we be able to drink it". ~Nouwen, H.

Reflection

1. Are you experiencing loneliness or loss this holiday season? How can you honor your grief and also open your heart to tiny pieces of joy and new possibilities?

2. Create a ritual to honor your loved one who you is missing?

3. Attend a "Blue Christmas" service. Blue Christmas is a Western Christian tradition that happens on or around the longest night of the year, usually December 21 the Winter Solstice. It is about comforting Christians who are grieving and struggling to find joy and hope during the season.

4.For those who are not experiencing loneliness or depression at this time, reach out and encourage someone who is suffering. We learned from Mary and Elizabeth how they supported each other in the midst of their struggles and joys.

A BLESSING FOR LOVE TO COME AT CHRISTMAS

God, we are waiting for love, not the simple kind or the sweep-you-off-your-feet kind, but the absurd kind. The kind wrapped in rags, resting in a bucket of animal feed. Love enough to save us all. Blessed are we who look for Love deeper, fuller, truer-than we have ever known, than we could have ever hoped for. Blessed are we who seek you, the light that dawned so long ago in that dark stable. Love given. Love received. Receive this gift, dear one.