Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Joy and Pain

The importance of community may be even greater in difficult times such as these

By Izzy Huygen, CLAC Representative

I may be showing my age a bit, but do you remember the lyric line, “Joy and pain (pump it up pump it up now) sunshine and rain”? It was one of Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock’s biggest hits back in 1988.

I had to look up the year, but everything else was crystal clear when it came to mind as we transitioned from 2020, a year of a lot of pain, to 2021, hopefully one where we can all breathe sighs of relief and, even more optimistically, experience plentiful joy.

I started writing this blog when the Canadian Junior hockey team had advanced past the Russians in the semifinals of the annual New Year’s tournament of the top 10 junior hockey teams in the world. Canada went 3-0 in the round-robin and shutout the Czechs in the quarter final.

Then, somewhat more convincingly than expected, we hammered a strong Russian team 5-0. Facing a US team that had already lost to the Russians in the round-robin, it was looking pretty good for a Canadian gold medal.

And then, reminiscent of the rest of 2020 perhaps, the wheels fell off and we lost.

That wasn’t supposed to happen—and it totally ruined my blog. It was supposed to be about how the COVID-19 challenges of 2020, and the separation and isolation that we all face in varying degrees, was not going defeat us. As a community of hockey lovers, of colleagues, friends, and family, and as a nation, we still had hockey and the celebration of our golden victory to draw us together.

And then it didn’t happen. Sigh.

Where did we ever get the idea that things would always turn around, that we have earned something better just because we have endured something worse, that pain would always be answered with joy?

There is no guarantee or promise of joy. Our current challenges, while significant, are a far cry from what many other generations have suffered through in world wars and other longer, deeper sloughs of various types.

Is that a silver lining? Not really, and there doesn’t have to be one. COVID sucks, but we still have community.

Celebrating a national hockey team win with friends and family would have been more fun, but sharing in the loss is important, too. And in life, the importance of community may be even greater in times of loss and pain.

During this COVID era, there are unending challenges that CLAC members and everyone has faced—underemployment, unemployment and other types of financial instability, health and safety concerns, loved ones being struck by COVID, deaths of loved ones when we cannot even be with them or gather in their wake.

We suffer the mental, emotional and physical stress of being isolated from the communities that we rely on and that rely on us. The list goes on.

What I miss most is regular community with those I love. I miss getting together to watch a hockey game, win or lose. I am very thankful for the time with my immediate family, but I miss my other connections.

The idea of Rob and E-Z’s joy after pain sounds better and would’ve been a good theme song for this blog if the Canadian Juniors would have won. Perhaps a more fitting song for the moment is James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” . . . with a little adjustment:

Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
And I can’t wait till I can see you again.

Joy and Pain

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