Searching for joy in trivial things

amidst war and peace

Dear Readers,

To experience a decline in your ability to feel as we witness more and more of the atrocities being committed throughout the world is normal. We are constantly being pushed towards desensitization. This diminished capacity to feel can hold us paralyzed in despair. For me, this onslaught of grief, rage, and despair has been exhausting.

We, as a collective, need to realize the value of rest. We need to be able to sit with this grief, to let it flow through us, to engage in prayer, community, and time in nature. I am acutely aware that this advice might sound hollow in times of war and turmoil like the days we are seeing. But in order to be a witness to these atrocities, to be able to transmute this grief and rage into action—into progress—we need to take a step away and look at the bigger picture. I’m no good to the resistance if I’m consumed by grief, if I’m paralyzed by fear and despair.

It is only when we are capable of absorbing this hurt, this disappointment we feel each day due to the difference in what could be and what it is that we can employ ourselves to make real, tangible change. This grief we feel is a reminder—a reminder of the here and now in which we exist. It is an ode to our capacity to be present. The ache we feel in our limbs each day as we witness Palestinian annihilation is proof of our willingness to see things for what they are.

I find myself torn between this pain in my chest and the joy that radiates through me when I witness the beauty around me. It’s the little things :

• The laughter of my children.

• The first rays of the morning sun, shining through my window.

• The dew drops glistening on blades of grass.

• The shimmering, golden leaves under the autumn sun.

• The pattering of raindrops on my window.

• The pristine Blue jay that visits my garden everyday.

And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. We are capable of holding both. We are capable of experiencing both joy and grief. This is how we survive. The darkest times are overcome by the smallest ray of light, of hope, of joy. So, let’s allow ourselves to keep looking for joy in trivial things, in places and spaces that need light. In people, who need love and nurturing and find the kindness to offer some of what is ours, to them.

And most of all, to be grateful for this gift of grief, because there are so many who are walking this earth with dead hearts today. Let’s be grateful to our lord for not putting us amongst them. And place our trust and hopes in his ultimate and divine justice that we shall all witness In sha allah.

Until Next Time,

Yours Truly,

Zahra.G