joie de vivre: joy of life
After the Paris terrorist attacks recently a friend of mine posted on her Facebook page underneath a picture of her and her husband enjoying a good dinner:
"If we stop living, they win. Viva la France!"
I was taken back at first but then I thought about it and loved the sentiment. It is heartbreaking to bear witness to or be touched by so many horrible things in the world, but she's right, we can't let those that want to hurt us or the random natural disasters determine our joy. We only have this one life and we're all in it together. Easier said then done but a battle worthy of our efforts. It's looking for the rainbow after the rain, making lemonade out of lemons, turning a frown upside down. Old cliche's that still inspire us to look for the light in the darkness.
I'm all about feeling our emotions, expressing the pain and giving grief its rightful space. We need to work through the messy stuff, and yes, that can take a long time, even months...or years...or an entire lifetime for some of the most difficult situations.
Life is full of tragedy, sorrow and injustice...but even in the mist of it, there is magic to be found in the mess. Laughter with a good friend that listens to your deepest thoughts, feeling the sun on your skin, the taste of delicious food, relaxing in a hot bath, holding a new born child, a loved one that sticks with you through it all. There are so many magical moments that exist despite the circumstances we find ourselves in. This is the meaning of joie de vivre, or the joy of life. Sometimes it's harder to look at things as joyful when we are in so much pain but again, it's worth the effort, sometimes that may be all there is when things are at their worst...stolen moments of joy.
Just in case you need help, I love the WikiHow links, yes, they even have a HOW TO for this!
How to Capture Joie de Vivre
