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What the world needs now:
hope. peace. joy. love.

Much like life, the sea ebbs and flows.
If the palm trees instead, maybe:
Looking within, life's silhouettes and shadows.

by Karen Coney Coplin
ife is an adventure, which implies For me, it was especially excruciatingly painful to read about
excitement. Sometimes, too, it might the loss of four deaf Mainers, who were participating in a cornhole
Lactually mean venturing into uncharted tournament at a bowling alley. Their tightly knit and tiny
or unfamiliar territory. For many, it was a rocky community was rendered that much smaller. Simply devastating.
road in 2023. So many I know lost loved ones, But, also, the last month of the year offers many different ways
including the most poignant pain of losing to give consideration to the winter season, its many holidays, and
a child. the coming year ahead.
Still another friend had the double loss of There is no denying this time of year has the effect of deepening
a mother and father just a month apart which the meaning of feelings we all share as part of the human family.
exacts a heavy toll as a loving family is drastically reduced and Though, this will often mean bearing sorrow or distress more
reshaped. keenly, as past traditions are remembered during the Festival of
And the same has happened with ongoing conflicts and war, Lights or the Christmas season.
seemingly worlds away, in which entire families are among those Still, these red letter days might take the shape of feasts and
lost senselessly and amid terror. Heartrending as peace seems ever festivals, solstice, redemption, rituals and reflections for summing
elusive. up this year. Personally, I cannot believe it is almost 2024. (My life
Friends have shared that their parents or other relatives are in Naples began 30 years ago. As was once remarked, the days are
living with dementia. That is a hard blow, even as they try to long and the years are short.)
provide reassurance to their loved ones with this cognitive disorder. How do we find hope, peace and joy? It may boil down to
My own beloved uncle passed in January after many years with listening to, and for, love's gentle voice. And it may be just a
this condition. His loved ones, dear friends and former colleagues, whisper, but it will give us strength, shelter, safety, sustenance.
including those in the military, gathered together in Pennsylvania A loving mindset can be found within ourselves. A famous
for his funeral. American educator and author; also deaf and blind, Helen Keller,
And I wept not only for his loss, but for those who could not summed up this truth: "The best and most beautiful things in the
gather in a similar fashion with the support and the experience of world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the
sharing memories together - this because their losses came during heart."
the height of Covid. May your heart sing with hope, joy, peace, and
And, we all bow our collective heads to Maine, which suffered
above all, love.
a multi-location mass shooting and a lockdown spanning May compassion for yourself extend to others during
communities. So many lives were tragically and violently lost, all the coming holidays and all throughout the new year.
while these ordinary Americans were going about their personal
business alongside friends and family.
Email Karen with your article ideas concerning Life in Naples (especially as to local charities and their activities): Napleskcc@gmail.com.
Follow her on Instagram for more vignettes about Life in Naples: @naplesbythenumbers

46 Life in Naples | December 2023