The Task of Life

I have a confession: I will never be the same.

Sometimes life takes a turn. Sometimes a moment or a night or a season changes everything.

Once again, I find myself adapting to a new normal. Internally and externally, my world has been shaken and the transition to a new way of thinking, of being, of living, of breathing, of hoping, of praying . . . has begun.

Am I up to such a task? Can I continue to live with hope and peace and joy?

Sometimes hardships of life that you have only heard about or read about show up on your doorstep. The horrors of reality and the plight of being human becomes more “real” than ever.

Your heart breaks. Your senses are shaken. Your mind recalibrates to make sense of it all.

And then, if strength persists, you breathe.

You lean into the people who love you.

You ask for help.

And then you keep asking for help.

You pray.

You sing.

You create.

You cry.

You sleep.

You look for every possible sign of life and growth and beauty.

You do ordinary things.

Wash the dishes.

Do the laundry.

Change the sheets.

Water the plants.

Take a walk.

Watch a movie.

Go to work.

Read a book.

Laugh.

Hug your children.

Be love.

Receive love.

Make love.

Spread love.

Keep breathing.

Keep moving forward.

Lean in.

Am I up to such a task? Can I continue to live with hope and peace and joy? Oh, yes. I will not give up. I will not give in. I will fight for love and for those I love. Fiercely, courageously, and with great joy.

“Pretending that things are nicely boxed up and put away robs us of great riches . . . Out of the wreckage something surprising will rise.” -Anne Lamott