Most of us have been thinking a lot about what has been lost.  Worrying about cancelled plans, nonexistent jobs, lack of activities, an end to education, shortages of supplies and financial security.  And the big one, concerns over health and the health of those we know, those we don’t.  It is difficult to avoid these worries – they are all around us.  They are being reported in the news and on social media in an overwhelmingly constant manner.  Today I am choosing to think about what remains.  Those things that sustain in both superficial and deep ways.  Those things that are treasures.

It took me a while to find a song that inspired this thought process.  I will admit, I was up very late into the night wondering if there were any more songs out there that meant anything to me.  Nonsense, of course.  The potential list of songs to ponder is endless.  Our world, our history, our species has been writing music without cease…forever.  There is no shortage, no possibility of running out of others’ words and notes to comfort and inspire.  Treasure number one.

And then this one popped into my head.  Another very simple camp or Sunday school song.  One I hadn’t thought of for many, many years.  But what a message it holds.

I’ve got peace like a river
I’ve got peace like a river
I’ve got peace like a river in my soul

I’ve got love like an ocean
I’ve got love like an ocean
I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul

I’ve got joy like a fountain
I’ve got joy like a fountain
I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul

A lot of us have many things to be thankful for right now.  Despite the circumstances, the worries, the panic and the fear, as one friend told me, as long as they had a roof, food and the love of their family, they were doing okay. When we whittle things down to the basics, it is possible to hang on.  These kinds of treasures are not so difficult to find, if we are willing to look.

What I particularly like about these words, though, is the deep truth that much of what we treasure, especially when all else seems to have failed, is what we can find within.  The peace, the love and the joy are in our souls.  Think about that.  They reside within us.  As I sat up in the night, unable to sleep, I was overwhelmed by this.  It is a huge personal responsibility to dig deep enough to find these things when all around seems quite bleak, and a little bit impossible.  But, I am almost certain, there is a truth here that is a treasure beyond measure.

I don’t think this is about pulling up our bootstraps and having a stiff upper lip.  The peace of a river can wash over dangerous rapids and glassy calmness.  Flowing with strength and direction, in spite of obstacles.  Sometimes the water runs low, almost drying up. The love of an ocean can batter a shoreline or cause a shipwreck. It can be polluted and cannot be drunk. But it can also reflect the moon’s lovely glow and hypnotize us with it’s enduring tide.  It can be enormous in size and sound and in its ability to sustain life.  A fountain can decay over time if it is not maintained, and yet can create such serene beauty with its design and sparkling sounds.  Fountains all over the world have served to bring us fresh water to drink, and become meaningful meeting places where we gather and share experiences.  These images are complex and varied.  But they contain hope.  They contain beauty.

These things that are available to us from deep within our souls, are our greatest treasures.  They sustain us through the most difficult of circumstances.  We draw upon them when we can’t even see that they remain.  I suspect that we need to take a moment every day to maintain these reserves.  Moments that allow us to put aside all that is lost and reflect on these treasures that we own.  Own deeply and freely.  To cultivate our souls’ deepest peace, love and joy is a worthy task.  Especially now.  These are not treasures of perfection.  They are simply our gifts to ourselves.  They will look different for each of us.  Some will be hard to find, others easy.  Some will require enormous effort, others will bubble forth unable to be contained.

Look after yourself. Find your treasures and hang on. It is enough.