January Blues

Keeping in Touch

Image: Scott Ymker| Unsplash

Although the countryside might be covered in a blanket of fluffy white snow which can do a lot to lift our spirits, often mid-January days can feel long and gloomy.  On the horizon lies February, sometimes referred to as tunnel month because we think that we are under-ground and spring will never arrive.  We can feel alone and lonely, longing for friendship and support.  This is the moment to remember the importance of keeping in touch with our broader community.

We humans are social beings who thrive best in loving, nurturing families and support systems.  In fact, many animals live in community.  Horses and cattle live in herds, birds in flocks, whales in pods and fish in schools etc. They depend on each other for safety and survival.

On the human level, keeping in touch with each other is vital, especially during Canada’s long winters and recently imposed pandemic restrictions.  Think for a moment about the solace you receive from connecting with friends, family, and coworkers.  Ask any student what they miss about school and the reply is always the same, “I miss my friends”.

Image: Unsplash/Sixteen Miles Out

Keeping in touch doesn’t need to be arduous, it just means taking time to reach out to someone.  Sending a friend a short email, sometimes accompanied by a thoughtful or hilarious attachment. Have a brief phone chat with a neighbor. This can be more uplifting than a long, drawn-out conversation.  Try your hand at writing a note to a shut-in. Although it’s a disappearing art, we still know the thrill of finding a friendly letter in the mailbox.  A friend and I have sustained our friendship through 25 years of pen-and-paper communication.

Going for a walk with a loved one is uplifting; sharing lunch or afternoon tea, can keep the blues at bay. Today, renew your good intentions to keep in touch with others and watch the clouds disappear!

-Sister Jean Moylan, csj

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Title Image: Unsplash: benjamin lehman

How Shall I Begin These Thanks Which Have No End?

As I sit in my cozy little living room these Thanksgiving evenings, I realize that life has been a blessing in every way. Where do I begin to express the thanks that swells in my heart and fills my soul?

I need not leave my room to pour out my heart with gratitude. The beauty of nature I view from the window speaks to me in the gold and reds of the graceful maple trees across the road. The daily gorgeous sunsets seen from the west window thrills my heart. A photo of my parents, now deceased, sitting in a place of honour near the window fills my heart with gratitude for the nurturing that was mine from birth until my wings were strong enough to fly into adulthood and take my place in the world.

The family photo of my maternal grandparents and their nine children causes me to thank my brave ancestors for daring to leave a homeland for Canada, a land of freedom and opportunity.

The gift of television and technology brings the world, with its joys and sorrows, to me through the little screen across the room.  Telephone calls bring me ample opportunities to hear and assist those who need a listening ear, attention, and friendship.

Dotting the walls are photos of friends and loved ones whose lives bring me friendship and the blessings of community.

A bowl of bright red apples sitting on the kitchen counter reminds me of the abundance of nature.

The crucifix on the wall over my bed speaks above all else, the true meaning of life and happiness. It is life surrendered, broken and poured out in love for each of us so that we might live not for ourselves but for others.

We need not venture outside our front doors to offer thanksgiving and know that we are truly blessed every day in every way. Truly, our thanks have no end.

-Sister Jean Moylan, cs

A Tale of Two Summers

Calmly, I sit by my window on a rainy, late August morning, my thoughts roll back to earlier summer months. May comes to mind with its early spring buds. Daffodils, narcissus, tulips push through the warming ground to bright sunlight.  June explodes with nature in full bloom.  Birds cheer from the thicket, trees burst forth in full leaf, and grass is green and lush.

July and August offer months of freedom for children to cherish. Brides and grooms offer their lives to each other. For students, it’s a time of happy holidays. Fun and freedom abound as life changes gears. Family vacations, staycations and everything in between become the norm.  Reunions, barbecues and outdoor living spring up everywhere.  Regular, bountiful rain and life-giving showers are generously bestowed on the earth and gratefully received.

However, as I ponder wonderful summer, an unease stirs within me. The rain seems wetter, colder, more persistent under thick, low-hanging gray skies.  My mind turns to those in our beloved country who suffer under forest fires and long for blessed rain to relieve their misery.  Theirs has been a summer of danger and grief bringing with it lives forever changed.  While we have rejoiced these many weeks, they have lived with despair.

Musing on life’s blessings and challenges, I sense in the air a hint of fall to come.  Nostalgia visits my heart. Summer is waning. Sunrise appears a little later; I begin the struggle of rising in the dark.  Is this the first whiff of the coming cocooning and hibernation?  Holidays are dwindling. Stores are hacking back-to-school supplies. Routine is on the horizon.

Sadly, there were no holidays, barbecues or fun in the sun for families in the furnace of forest fires. I wonder will their workplaces still exist?  Will children return to school as usual?  One can only hope and pray for winds to turn direction and copious rain to fall upon the burning inferno. Meanwhile, let us hold in our hearts those who knew not summer’s joys. - Sr. Jean Moylan, csj