Week #326 – “It feels like you have forever…you don’t.” (JoCheryl Holcombe)

Last week, as we turned the corner into December, I could see there were four Fridays left in 2020…which had me thinking:

What does this year have to teach us?

And as I said last week, I’m not one for assigning purpose to tragedy…I think we’re fully capable of learning things without losing people, bearing heartache, or watching dreams die.

Still, I do think there are things to be learned in loss. Not because of the loss necessarily…but in spite of it.

2020 is kind of like that. We’ve all had to learn things we didn’t want to learn. Yet learn them we did. And in some cases, we had to RE-LEARN them. Or at least be reminded of them.

Case in point: Another big lesson for me this year was the echo of JoCheryl Holcombe’s words from 2017 following a mass shooting that left EIGHT family members dead (TEN if you include an unborn child and a close family friend) after the Sutherland Springs, Texas shooting on November 5th.

An acquaintance of mine is friends with her and shared her Facebook post from Wednesday, November 15th — the day her town gathered together to celebrate the lives of the Holcombe and Hill families that were killed en masse just ten days before.

You can still see JoCheryl’s public message on FB here.

I couldn’t possibly add anything to that then, or now — except to agree and share it with you.  As you gather together with family this season — if you get to see them in person, or in a drive-by, via Zoom, or a plain old phone call — remember, it may feel like you have forever.

You don’t.  

(But then again, you do!)

Your Happyness Challenge for the Week Ahead is once again this quote from JoCheryl Holcombe: “So, when you think of those you love and it feels like you have forever, just remember you don’t, but then again, YOU DO! make this life matter, our soul is the only thing we take with us when we are done…it’s worth tending, it’s worth making meaningful deep connections and living each moment in the fullest most meaningful way. BECAUSE everything can change in a holy instant “
(JoCheryl Holcombe via Facebook — 11/15/17)

Spread Happyness — make your moments matter! (However you get them this season!) 

12/11/20 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
grace@spreadhappyness.com

Week #325 – Find the Yes!

As we turn the corner into December, I can see there are four Fridays left in 2020…which has me thinking:

What does this year have to teach us?

I’m not one for assigning purpose to tragedy…I think we’re fully capable of learning things without losing people, bearing heartache, or watching dreams die.

Still, I do think there are things to be learned in loss. Not because of the loss necessarily…but in spite of it.

2020 is kind of like that. We’ve all had to learn things we didn’t want to learn. Yet learn them we did. But the question remains: will we be better for it?

One big lesson for me this year was “finding the yes.”

In a year full of NO…what we CAN do has become super important. This is not about complacency. Oh no…we should not rest in our yeses. But while we are busy fighting, resisting, protesting, and making our voices heard…life goes on and we need to live out the YES.

• Can’t go to movies? Go to a drive in. 
• Can’t work out at the gym? Take it outside.
• Can’t go out to eat? Order in.
• Can’t gather inside? Take it to the park or patio.

But here in Los Angeles, just as we’re getting kind of getting kind of used to this new normal…we find ourselves restricted again. Which feels like a bit of a blow. After all, we were just getting the hang of it!

Many of us are facing a lot of NOs this holiday season. Lots of nos. It’s crushing. But we can’t settle for it. We can’t take no for an answer. There is a yes there somewhere. And it’s up to us to find it.

• Can’t host the family?  Schedule an outside visit.
• Can’t do an outside visit?  Schedule a drive by.
• Can’t do a drive by?  Send cards, make phone calls, and of course…
• There’s always Zoom. (UGH!!!)

There are tons of ways I’ve seen people turning NOs into YESes.

• Stuck inside?  Declutter.  
• No travel?  Tour your home town! 
• Mall closed?  Shop small.  
• Learn to cook, learn to bake, learn resilience. 

This year has taught us a lot about resilience. Not just the benefits of it…but the importance of it as a learned skill: for survival, for well being, to help ourselves so we can help others. And that’s what’s most important, because for every no we are hearing someone else is hearing it too. And it may be more than they can bear.

Your Happyness Challenge for the Week Ahead: Find the Yes! We can’t just all give in to NO. Someone needs to stand up to it. To test its boundaries. To challenge its limits. To find out what it’s really made of. Because sometimes NO does keep us safe from harm…and other times, it’s an opportunity to teach us what we’re really made of. 

Spread Happyness — Find the Yes!!!

12/4/20 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
grace@spreadhappyness.com