Still Happening Redux

Photo by "My Life Through A Lens" on Unsplash

Some of you responded to my latest post with your own observations about the positive things that are still happening in your lives. I’m pleased and more than a little amazed that you took the time to respond, when my own thoughts had really been barely articulated. I wrote when my brain was still foggy, and, foolishly, I published, thinking, “Darn! Look at that! I managed a post, even given that state I’m in!” Talk about hubris!

So let me take a bunch of giant steps back and see if I can put into words why I think Nadia Bolz-Weber’s idea of naming the good things that are still happening is so important to me.

The woes, the worries, the fears of the world laden my heart with dread. Sometimes, even on the sunniest of days, I can feel as though I live under a permanent cloud unless I do something to lift my despair. So I try to figure out my own way through the thickets of doubt and fear and confusion. That’s not always easy, though. And I know, from hearing the woes of others, that I am not alone. In fact, one of the reasons I started One Good Thing . . . in the first place was to find some little rays of hope to spread around, to help dispel the shadows that hover over the landscape.

When I read Nadia Bolz-Weber’s blog a few weeks ago, where she offered the little “still happening” tag, I thought “Aha! That’s an easy tool to remember. I can carry that around with me, even on the most challenging days, and ferret out the good things that are still happening.”

The days ahead are forecast to be difficult. My guess is most of us can use a few tools in our toolbox to lift our spirits when they are laid low. We need to nourish our souls for the work ahead.

Here’s the dazzle you’ve offered in response to my previous post:

Maryli offers this photo, one of several. I will sprinkle her other photos throughout. Of this photo, Maryli says amaryllis bulbs are still happening and sometimes they don’t quit. These bulbs were hanging out in a pot in her sunroom for a couple of years looking like compost. One January day, she tossed a bit of soil on them and next thing she knew, they needed to be tied together. Then POW! They became an explosion of brilliant starlike energy.

Eric’s fireplace is still happening. In a similar vein, David’s pellet stove is still happening.

Steve says courage is still happening. He adds that between 3 and 6 million people showed up on relatively short notice for Hands Off rallies to tell the administration to stop destroying our government. Another protest is planned. They will keep happening. We will just have to keep showing up.

Again from Maryli: Bright, beautiful blossoms from her sunroom are still happening.

Barbara says her right knee is still happening after surgery, and it’s getting better and better with PT. She says her left knee will still be happening after surgery in October. She looks forward to walking around her yard, in the woods, and at the beach without pain. Huzzah!

From Maryli: Snowdrops, harbingers of spring, are still happening!

Lucille says, “YOU are still happening,” by which I am pretty sure she meant me, but I would like to extend it back to Lucille and then outwards to all of you fine people who take the time to read these posts!

Steve says love is still happening.

From Maryli: Beloved young people with their coveted driver’s licenses and first cars are still happening.

Irene says Concerts for a Cause is still happening. (This is a years-long program from the church she and I go to, which puts on concerts with top notch musicians to raise money for local charities.) She also says “sharing the plate” from that same church is still happening. (For well over 20 years, our church has split the Sunday collection plate 50/50 with various charities.)

Steve says concerts keep happening, including ones presented by local performers that bring together friends and neighbors with whom we can share our anxieties and receive comfort and encouragement.

Sandy says Spring is still happening.

Louise says the snow is melting and flowers are still happening. Birdsong, too!

Maryli adds photographic evidence that spring is still happening. Here in Maine we need as many signs of spring as we can get!

David says gravity is still happening. Could be a good thing or a bad thing, but at least it is dependable!

Irene says chocolate chip cookies are still happening, at least at her house. And kind and good neighbors are still happening.

Ken says morning walks are still happening, during which he chats with Mother Nature and offers up a litany of all the good things in his life: his lovely wife, food, sufficient funds, gorgeous days in his town, books, trees with their amazing architecture, his quiet town full of such nice people, the Lake, continued good health at 86 almost 87 ... and so much more.

More from Maryli: Perfect New Yorker cartoons are still happening.

Helen says Live theater is still happening, transporting her from these doldrums to delightful worlds and characters. She also notes the company of fellow Rotarians is still happening, and they are all good people from all walks of life who just want to do good where and when they can. High school kids who help at the food pantry and fundraising events for international causes are still happening. Family members who are her best friends are still happening. And so much more...all still happening.

From Maryli: Construction of the new bridge between Brunswick and Topsham, Maine, is still happening, and here is an aerial photo to prove it. This bridge has been a looong time in coming. And, unless DOGE decides to delete the budget, it may even be completed. That will be one good thing, indeed, because the current bridge is unsafe.

Susan says her bird feeder is still happening as birds migrate home. And friends, new and old, are still happening.

In my previous post I forgot to note that the Trash Can Fairy is still happening. On Friday afternoon, there were my trash cans tucked up neatly by the garage door after the garbage trucks had made their rounds. I was still wandering around in my Covid nightgown and was so grateful not to have to go and fetch them.

From Maryli, reminiscent of my comment that dishwashers are still happening. (She is much better at loading hers than I am at loading mine. My dishwasher was clearly designed for somebody else’s dishes.) Maryli says she and her husband got a wicked good deal on this dishwasher because it needed a front piece. One of their friends built the front piece for them and helped them install it.

David’s sump pump is still happening. He adds it’s a bit of a metaphor: It prevents his basement from being flooded with all the negative vibes that entails. (His basement flooded a year or so ago, and the vibes were pretty negative indeed.) His flowers are still happening, too, even though snow keeps falling on them. And chickadees, cardinals, and crows are still happening in his back yard.

From Maryli: A lace curtain at the Whittier House in Brunswick is still happening.

Susan says her neighbors' cat and rabbit, so sweet and soft, are still happening. She has the privilege of feeding them for a couple days.

Kate says grandbabies are still happening. She notes the 3-week early arrival of healthy grandson, Bennett. She says forsythia, one of her mom’s favorites, is also still happening. And so are Angus cows, grazing at Skip’s Farm.

Little Stevie the Cat says can openers are still happening … (but not nearly often enough, he thinks). The fact that he is back to clamoring for food makes my heart sing.

So much good still happening! Keep your spirits up for the work ahead! Thank you for creating this post with me!

Love,

Sylvia