Welcoming Joy Again

This goes out to all us who've lost someone we love…(and isn't that all of us?) For those moments when we find it difficult to welcome joy back into our lives: They spent their life together…finding joy, laughing, loving…and then one day she died and he was left to wonder if he would ever find joy or laughter again. He wondered how long it would take…how many months…how many years before a memory…a thought of her…wouldn't fill his eyes with tears. He loved the life they built…and did not want her to infer… If he laughed…if he found joy…that meant he was forgetting her. Then in a misty fog of sadness one day…suddenly…out of the blue arose a memory of her laughing…and he found himself laughing too. And as more memories of her laughter flooded in he realized there was a part of him his sorrow did not destroy… that in spite of a constant shadow of sadness… there was still room in his heart for joy. He discovered so much about himself while she was alive and now with her death he learned… the best way to live with his sadness…. was to allow his joy and laughter to return. Oh, he still has moments when sadness envelopes him… and he knows for the rest of his life for sorrow he will not lack… but since that day, with her encouragement, he's welcomed his joy and laughter back… Now whenever he smiles or laughs he looks up… and thanks her for helping change his point of view… knowing whenever he finds himself laughing… somewhere… she will be laughing too.