Paradoxes

"Sometimes joy is wrapped in other feelings."

All this week I thought about this. Tomorrow would have been my son's 29th birthday. A friend said today that it must be bittersweet. He questioned his own use of the word bittersweet, wondering if there was any sweetness in the coming day. Yes, there is. I have my happy memories. Our family remembers him as we tell our various stories about him. And, of course, we also wonder about what might have been.

His birthday this year will be on the first day of fall. Tonight I read an excerpt of an article about the paradox of fall, where I read "But if we allow the paradox of darkness and light to be, the two will conspire to bring wholeness and health to every living thing."

Darkness and light, bitter and sweet, joy mixed in with sadness, all are necessary parts of life, aren't they?

Happy birthday, my boy. I miss you more than you could imagine. Come see me in my dreams sometime, okay?