I often take pictures of the moon, but I notice
that the stars shine brightest on the darkest nights. The beauty of the shining
stars above are our compensation for the darkness.
As we go through life we pass through periods of
darkness that make us think we will never see the light again. Sorrow can seep
through the fiber of our being and inner peace and joy becomes elusive.
Throughout life, we experience an accumulation of
loss. We lose loved ones through unavoidable separation whether physical
distance because they moved away, or relationship failure, because they moved
on. It is hard to let go of the people we love no matter how we lose them.
Losing a loved one to a debilitating terminal
illness can cause anticipatory grief. In the case of dementia, ambiguous loss
occurs when the person is physically with you, but cognitively challenged. In
the darkest hours, we must look for the light shining through and savor those
moments. Loving someone “as is” is rewarding in its own way.
Life isn’t a fairy tale, and happy endings are
never guaranteed. The good guys don’t always win, and the bad guys aren’t
always punished. Crimes are not always solved. Missing persons may always be
missing. The innocent die, and the perpetrators may escape capture.
We live in
a world where we have access to a daily barrage of tragedy. Between social
media, podcasts, and multiple news outlets, we have to determine what is real
and what is AI, or a made-up conspiracy theory.
When we answer the phone, open an email or text
message, or receive a notice on our pc, we have to determine if it’s a
legitimate communication. We should always keep in mind that it could be a
scammer trying to drain our bank account or steal our identity. The older we
get the more vigilant we need to be. Scammers often target older people because
they think we are gullible.
The same devices that challenge us can also
entertain and bring us close to those who are far away. A phone conversation
can lift spirits, a podcast can make us laugh, and an email or text can bring
us anticipated good news. The evening news often ends with a human-interest
story.
In reality, day always follows night, life goes on
and, eventually, we feel the warmth of the sun on our skin, and our world
rights itself.
If we were never hungry, we wouldn’t appreciate
food. If we were never freezing cold or burning hot, we wouldn’t appreciate
electricity. If we never had a crappy job, we wouldn’t appreciate a good one. If
we never did without, we would never appreciate abundance. All bad things make
us appreciate the good more.
If we never walked in darkness, we would never see
the brightest stars.
Copyright October 2026 by L. S. Fisher
https://earlyonset.blogspot.com