A year ago today I received some very hard news.

I’ll share about it in a moment, but a bit of background first… because it’ll help make sense of the message.

I like to say that my first Master’s Degree I earned in El Salvador. I learned about public health on the ground before I really even knew the term.

I worked alongside some incredible humans, who taught me loads about resilience, living in community, community-wide healing, true courage, revolution, and changemaking.

Oh, and humility in the process of changemaking.

My First Master's Degree, the Learning in El Salvador

El Salvador is also the place where my body pretty much fell apart and I wondered if I’d make it out alive, or if I’d ever get well again. (That health crisis magically led me on the path to learning about alternative and holistic healing – and is a big part of what I do now. But that’s for another day...)

I’m not gonna lie, there were some hard knocks in the five years I lived and worked there.

This experience changed me forever, and there is almost nothing I do in the world without looking through the lens of that experience.

I was working with ex-combatants and ex-refugees from the 12-year Civil War, something that maybe felt a little scary to the 24-year old me, before I arrived.

But once there, it was profound to meet with them, live with them, work alongside them, learn from them. They were humans, caught in some really hard circumstances, working tirelessly for change, for human rights, to make beauty of what had been lost and destroyed.

Through them, I learned about creating a vision for change, staying with the changemaking efforts in a sustained way, continuing to hold the vision, for the long haul. (No quick fixes and no easy remedies.)

And in that experience I observed people with lived experiences of individual and collective trauma able to navigate hard lives in resilient ways, that also included joy and beauty.

(Quick disclaimer – I am not idealizing the whole experience, nor the hard things that people lived through and the ways they managed to survive and make it through. I learned a lot through the experience, though, about different and creative ways of developing resilience.)

Some troubling events

Without going into details, a year ago today, five men (two of them who I’d worked with closely in the local NGO I worked in), dear humans who were part of my first Master’s degree, were imprisoned on unfounded charges, without bail, and soon after were denied access to legal counsel and contact with the outside world.

They're environmental activists and extraordinary leaders, humble humans who’ve devoted their lives to changemaking on the ground and in the region. They’ve impacted countless lives, locally, regionally, internationally. And they are ex-combatants who lived through war.

Their capture is a symbolic one. The old patterns and injustices for which the Civil War was fought persist. This isn’t an isolated situation in our world, of course, but it’s certainly concerning.

(They were gratefully, after some high profile activism, released to house arrest in August, but still are not free.)

The vigil - Joy IS resistance!

That’s a bit of the background.

The reason for this note today, though, is to share about joy.

Shortly after their capture last year, the community where I’d lived and worked for 5 years held a vigil for the five men.

And because it was 2023, it happened to be broadcast via Facebook (which was wild because there weren’t phones or internet when I lived there). So I was able to be there in real time with those who were anxious and grieving these losses.

There was dancing, and singing, and ceremony, a puppet show, and calls to action.

A bit more celebratory than I’d expected, in typical Salvadoran style.

And there was one moment where one of the MCs/ community leaders said something along the lines of,

“This vigil is not to spread sadness. Yes, we are sad, and we are mourning. But tonight we are here to spread happiness. This is a form of resistance.

Joy is resistance! (¡La alegria es la Resistencia!)”

She reminded people present that they were there to celebrate life and keep their energies up for what's ahead, to keep going.

In that moment, hearing her, I burst into tears.

Here they were again, reminding me of this essential lesson they’d taught me while I was there.

La alegria es la Resistencia.

Joy IS resistance.

Inviting you into joy - in this time

I share this in honoring them today, and also because the hearts of many around the world are hurting right now.

Working for a better world - from wherever you're at and however you're doing it these days - can feel hard, discouraging, and sometimes even hopeless.

I bring this love note today, inspired by the people who reminded me back in the 90’s that there is no choice but to work for a better world, from where you’re at right now. And to have a good time while doing it.

So while we’re working to make things better, in whatever corner of the world we're doing it, let’s remember that joy can (and should) be part of the process.

I've been making a practice of finding "joy moments" in recent months, and it's been life changing.

I invite you to remember and find joy with me – little moments to savor, in all of the changemaking, visioning, living, leading, healing, medicine making, teaching, parenting, and caregiving.

Our work includes being able to find joy, even in the hard moments that make our hearts hurt.

And yes, to grieve as well.

But as we keep on, through the grief, let's weave joy into the experience, so we have the stamina to keep working for a better way.

What's your joy? Because the world needs you well.

I'd love to know, what is bringing you joy these days?

Or what can you commit to in order to cultivate a little more joy?

Know that your joy, and your healing story, helps to create more healing stories out there.

Come with your full cup, taking time for moments of joy.

And please remember, when you tend to you, you can do even more beautiful things through your changemaking, work, leadership, parenting, teaching, medicine making, humanitarian aid, community tending, activism, and peacemaking.

The world needs you well.

With love and many blessings,

Kelly

P.S. Share with me, what's bringing you joy? Or how are you going to create more joy right now? (I LOVE receiving notes in response, and read every one. So please share.)

Kelly Lubeck, MPH, RYT