Finding Solace in Simple Things

A row of large purple and white lilac grows outside my kitchen window.

My favorite time of year is when those bushes are in full bloom. Walking outside in the cool morning air to take in their fragrance and watch the bees bumble from blossom to blossom is something I love.

When I was almost 16 years old, we moved into a new house. I hated my parents for it. I had to leave all my old friends behind. We also had a big walnut tree growing in our yard that had finally gotten big enough that I could climb up into its branches to read, write, or think; just be alone.

We worked harder than I ever have the year we moved into that house. There was a yard to put in, a basement to finish, and a seemingly endless amount of cleaning that had to be done.

When the grass was in, my dad planted lilacs along the fence between us and the neighbors.

As those lilacs grew, so did my love for our new home. I made new friends, one, in particular, who has now been my wife and best friend for more than twenty-one years.

I fell in love with those lilacs so when my wife and I got our own place, I knew lilacs had to be part of it.

They're a simple thing: you buy a bush, put it in the ground, give it some water, and occasional fertilizer and, year after year, that little bush will increase in size and beauty.

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Conflict in the world seems unrelenting. Neighbors, friends, and family members have become divided over things that shouldn't be divisive. People scream for tolerance, but only if you think how they do.

When I think about the difficulties in the world, a short phrase from a favorite song often come to mind:

Where can I turn for peace?

Where is my solace?

We all need more solace: comfort and consolation in times of distress or sadness. It's an understatement of gigantic proportions to say that right now is a time of both distress and sadness.

Finding solace is at odds with the busyness of life and loud voices surrounding us. We frequently seek comfort in the panacea of quick and accessible things that, in reality, only dull our senses and worsen the problem: alcohol, food (more than required for nourishment), TV, internet, social media, etc.

In contrast to the hurried and mind-numbing nature of the list above, solace is often found in the simplest of non-technological places:

• Holding an infant
• Hearing a child's laugh
• Spending time with friends and loved ones
• Engaging in a hobby
• Reading a book
• Smelling actual roses

Thousands of personalized items could be added to the list.

Often, in order to find solace, we have to let go of the pressures of the moment to just be present. Being present requires intentionality and focus.

Craig D. Lounsbrough wrote the following:

It's in solace that I better understand the rate-race. For in solace I have both the gifts of space and time to understand the rate-race, when I am otherwise consumed by the singular act of surviving it.

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Even as I "pen" this little musing, a sense of calm pervades me as I think about those lilacs that haven't blossomed for a few months. But, I know the bushes are there, eager to produce blossoms again in the Spring.

Take a moment to contemplate where you find peace.

If you don't know, go find it. It's likely closer than you think.

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Thanks for reading!