The Invisible Connection…

You can feel the grief, devastation, and anguish in the air here in Central Texas, as people process the horrific flooding and loss of life over the 4th of July weekend.

It’s hard to imagine “A Joyful July” amidst the sorrow.

Called back to Angela Williams Gorrell’s poignant story of the unimaginable losses she experienced in a few weeks (while researching the subject of joy) shared in her book, The Gravity of Joy, I was reminded that the joy arising from simple connections can help us find and scatter love, hope, joy, and beauty.

And in the way of the mystery of unseen connection, as we do this, we give breathing space to those immediately impacted by the devastation for their grief to flow and for resources to find them as they struggle to just put one foot in front of another in the coming days.

I found myself so grateful on Sunday for a joyful connection at the grocery store with Betsy. We saw each other only a few weeks ago but found ourselves hugging each other at least three times during our short conversation, as if our bodies understood what our hearts needed to experience in that moment.

Sharing our feelings about the disaster, I realized these “invisible connections” between human beings both open us to feeling compassion for the heartbreak others are suffering and show us the way we can offer a lift up from the depths of despair to someone we’ll never meet.

Writing about what grief taught her in her book, Waking Up to This Day: Seeing the Beauty Right Before Us, Paula D’Arcy shares how grief reveals to us what really matters:

“For the first time in my life I was not persuaded by the false importance of a single thing. The knot that had tethered me to illusive shadows had been cut, and in its place was an interior clarity worth possessing. An early light. Grief’s single question, What really matters? illuminated a great dark. Few things really matter, and those that do, matter dearly.”

— Paula D’Arcy

You may feel called to donate money or other resources in support of the people, animals, and land impacted by the devastating floods. As you ponder ‘what is mine to do,’ consider strengthening your heart light to be a beacon of hope by giving your attention to connecting with others and focusing on what really matters. So, when their hearts are ready, those immediately impacted can find the path forward and know they’re not alone.

May you be blessed with opportunities for connections with loved ones, friends, neighbors, and store clerks. From a smile to a laugh to a hug, may these connections lift you and all those around you and remind you what really matters.

A Gift Amid Brokenness…

“Joy has a wonderous way of seizing our attention. It often comes swiftly and powerfully. Joy can be a gift of the breaking in of goodness, beauty, and truth amid brokenness.”

—Angela Williams Gorrell

Connection Energy

“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”

― Brené Brown

Beneath the Surface

“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”

― William James

In the Leaving

In the leaving,
in the letting go,
let there be this
to hold onto
at the last:

the enduring of love,
the persisting of hope,
the remembering of joy,

the offering of gratitude,
the receiving of grace,
the blessing of peace.

―Jan Richardson, as shared in her book, Sparrow: A Book of Life and Death and Life.