Joy & Hope

Listen to this reflection by playing the video below or continue down the page to read the full text version.

To understand the full context of the following Reflection, I highly recommend viewing the video embedded above before reading.

As you may have sensed, the Reflections from the last few months have been leading to this final chapter of My Joy Journey with Amy. I will hold Amy in my heart for all my days. But I know she would be getting irritated with me at all the mushy expressions of my love for her contained in this blog.

Thus, I have been hearing a whispering in my ear for the past few months to transition to something less focused on Amy. At the same time, my heart is also telling me the blog in its’ current form is keeping me static in my grief.

The whitewater rafting trip to the Royal Gorge had been in the works for at least a year. As the time for this adventure neared, I felt more and more convinced that it was the right time to conclude My Joy Journey with Amy.

My goal for this outing was to honor Amy by bringing our entire family together for a relaxing and joy filled adventure. Something special that only Amy and I had experienced that we could share with the rest of our family and nudge everyone out of their comfort zones.

Yes, we had some bittersweet moments where we were missing our loved ones. Tears flowed and hugs were shared. But I also believe it was the experience of a lifetime. What better way to honor them all than to experience the scenic wonder of the Royal Gorge and the heart stopping moments navigating more than 70 miles of the Arkansas River; including numerous category 3 and 4 rapids.

As I contemplated the final chapter of My Joy Journey with Amy, I continued to wrestle with the question, what’s next? Writing and hiking have been my therapy. I could not see myself giving up on either at this point. So, I began to formulate a plan to transition to a new initiative, My Joy Journey of Hope.

Like Amy’s focus on Joy, I have always been captivated by the concept of hope and stories of hope. Many of you may have recognized that I totally plagiarized the I Hope format at the ending of the movie Shawshank Redemption in the vlog above. It is because I share Andy Dufresne’s view of hope.

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

Hope is essential in our darkest hours. It helps us find resilience to overcome loss, adversity, or pessimism and to strive for something better. Thus, My Joy Journey of Hope felt like the perfect fit.

At this point I do not know what I will be writing about. Probably more of the same, but with more emphasis looking forward than looking back. Amy is, and will always be, the Love of My Life, but I have felt her urging me forward the past few months.

My Joy Journey with Amy will likely be self-published as a book someday to be shared with future generations of Youngquists and Gawrons. I will be sure to let everyone know if that happens, in case some of you would appreciate a copy.

Like everyone, I have no idea what the future holds. But instead of being immersed in my grief each day, I want to wake up with the morning sun shining on my face with a daily mission to find joy and hope.

It gives me comfort to share my thoughts and emotions with all of you. Words cannot express my gratitude for your willingness to make this journey with me. I am hopeful many of you will also choose to follow My Joy Journey of Hope. Cheers.