Participating in a group meeting this past week, I was reminded of the truth that not everyone (in fact a lot of people) loves Christmas. Many in fact find it to be a season of heavy hearted bleakness, populated with bad or painful memories, the consciousness of loss, a sense of existential melancholy.
My favorite band recently covered the song “There’s Still My Joy” originally written by Melissa Manchester. It captures this paradox of joy and sadness, hope and despair, light and darkness both of which exist with and within each other. Increasingly, at least in the American Church, this is evoked through the term of Blue Christmas and services/rituals that aim to create a space and place for its expression.
You can practice Audio Divina while listening to this song for an extended time, or simply reflect on how joy and sadness do in fact go hand in hand. How are you “blue” this Advent season? How is the mirth, hope, and excitement of this quasi hyper-active season expose your own loss and pain?
LINK to Audio Divina HOW TO PDF