Dear Editor:

With only days away from a time to be thankful for all of the joy that has filled our lives this year - recent events have blackened our walls, preventing us from remembering the many visits with grandchildren, celebrations of birthdays, anniversaries, and the love that is patient and kind.

What can we do to bring love and joy to our Thanksgiving table – to exchange fear for laughter, or death and loss for music that sooths our fears and releases our good loving memories and thankfulness?

The first image is a baby monitor capturing a toddler in bed singing the Star Wars theme song — an a cappella rendition of musical instruments. The second image follows the worst night imaginable, when the French sang their anthem giving strength to the meaning of life as people departed the coliseum honoring lives lost and the lives that continue.

Then on NBC, a young boy sitting on his father’s knee with a worried frown describes his understanding of Paris events and how he fears his family will need to "change houses." In a loving tone the father says, "France is our home," we won't have to move. The boy’s anxiety rises in fear about the “bad guys.” In love the father points to the memorial of flowers stating flowers are better than guns. Confused, the boy mutters, “But flowers don't do anything..." "Of course they do," his father explains. Everyone is putting flowers on the street “to fight against guns." The act of placing flowers in memory of a life lost is an act of love that is stronger than guns, or bad guys. A sheer light of relief rose on this boy’s face as he looked at the flowers and then gratefully at his father.

If laughter remains in the air, and love carries us through life, be thankful for what life has given you yesterday, today and tomorrow. Find your joy in life, the music that moves you to say thanks and be grateful for the love, food, family, and music in your heart. Remember how much we are given in nature’s beauty alone right here in Maine and have a happy Thanksgiving.

Jarryl Larson

Edgecomb