Mary’s Musings: Finding Joy

By Mary Bridges, Chaplain

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

In my August “Musings,” I invited each of you to join me in choosing, practicing, knowing and living joy. Here’s an update on how it’s working.

On the night of Aug. 25, I thought I heard rain, then rolled over and went back to sleep. When I got up, the floors were wet and the kitchen was flooded. A small plastic pipe developed a hole and sent an arc of water into our home. We were overwhelmed, but a series of phone calls brought people to help and we came up with a plan.

I put up a quick post on Facebook and received a surprising reply from our son’s high school sweetheart, who is Neola O’Neil’s niece. She told me about a memorable experience she and our son shared while sailing at Lake Wilson one Sunday. The wind died down, and they had trouble getting his small sailboat back to shore. As a result, they adopted “Sailing” by Christopher Cross as “their song.” It ends with these poignant lines:

Well it's not far back to sanity, at least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away and find serenity
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.
Believe me.  

Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free

Joy comes from the most unexpected places. When I shared the news about our kitchen disaster, I heard from a friend for the first time in years. She shared a memory of a song with a message of joy and hope and that became the source of my smile.

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