Quiet Courage

One of my favorite times in our backyard during the summer is early in the morning. The air is sweet and still cool when the turquoise sky above already makes it clear it will be a very hot day. The birds still have the energy to chirp busily as I put out fresh water and breadcrumbs with seeds for them, our Morning Glory flowers show off their crisp, pretty princess- for a day- blooms. The solitude is healing in those moments. I was happily surprised one of these peaceful mornings to hear piano music coming from the house of our longtime next door neighbour, Mark W.  He and his family have been our neighbours since we moved to our house 27 years ago. His wife Karen lost a very brave battle with cancer last year, and I still feel very emotional about her being gone. She stayed positive and strong until the very end. When I would have the courage to go see her, I always was impressed by how dignified she was. I often felt it was she who cheered me up, rather than the other way around. She would show the latest pictures of her children and many grandchildren. For someone like me who lost all her immediate family, it instilled a deep awareness that family in life, a family that supports and loves you and treasures your well being, is everything. I told her that many times, careful to keep my emotions in check, as the hurt inside my heart is raw still when it comes to all the sadness I had to endure when it came to being an outcast from my own blood. I enjoyed sharing with her that I had been able to re-establish friendships with several cousins on my father's side of the family, and how good that felt. Then last October, Karen passed away. Her funeral was amazing, worthy of the strong, faithful woman she was. Now I hear her husband Mark play his beautiful piano tunes from my backyard and it fills my heart with hope and joy. I am sure there are moments and days even, when playing his music is hard, but Mark plays anyway. There is a strength and determination in the melodies and their energy that speaks true of his and Karen's legacy of strong family and strong faith. I let the rich notes of the piano music fill my solitude. And I thought of courage. Quiet courage, the kind that makes people in difficult circumstances put one foot in front of the other, often unnoticed, day after day. I need that courage on certain days, more often than I care to recount, and listening to the beautiful music makes me feel connected, makes me feel my courage, quiet as it is and unnoticed, counts too, just as Karen's courage did, just as Mark's courage does. And the courage of all the people around us who try their very hardest to make a difference, to their families, their friends and neighbours. The quiet courage to keep on keeping on, often unseen, unheard. That is why listening to my neighbour play the piano so eloquently has such an impact on me. For he is not concerned with anyone hearing him in those moments. He is concerned with playing, with the heart and soul lifting joy and hope beautiful music brings. Without knowing it, he was inspiring me, is inspiring me, adding a sense of purpose and hope to my own struggles. That kind of courage is truly beautiful, when you end up inspiring others without even realizing it. So, give, share, whatever you have. A smile, a talk, a moment, a picture, art, if you are an artist, and you will inspire others and in the process make sure your own soul and heart stay vibrant and alive.