Quiet Joys: A Reflective Celebration of Being Well

By Elizabeth Casper Rolfs

Elizabeth lives quietly with her books, her cat, and her meditation alter. She has been writing for most of her life and has published poetry, journal entries, articles, and essays with numerous small presses. She is the author of The Crazy Quilt (a primer and memoir about mental illness) and These Three and Me (a narrative about her children).

In this memoir, which spans three early years of her healing relationship with her own deep self, Elizabeth shares her experiences of quiet joy.

It is still a miracle that she has survived the desolation and despair of her earlier years and has come through the painful necessity of living without her beloved children. In addition, she has regained her health after two very serious medical crises and is in recovery from two process addictions. This is to simply say that today, Elizabeth is ever grateful to be well.

Realizing that her well-being affects others, and as a whole, she has been inspired to tell her story of finding hope and happiness after her debilitating illnesses. And in these later years, Elizabeth is delighted to be exploring life in the spirit of celebration.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984555861

Book preview

Quiet Joys

A Reflective Celebration

of Being Well

Elizabeth Casper Rolfs

Copyright © 2018 by Elizabeth Casper Rolfs.

ISBN:                  Softcover                      978-1-9845-5584-7

                            eBook                           978-1-9845-5586-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 09/28/2018

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Year One

Mid April

Mid May

Late May

Mid June

Early July

Mid July

Early August

End of September

Early October

Early November

Year Two

Early January

Early February

End of May

Mid - June

Mid - September

Almost October

Mid October

Early November

Late November

Mid December

Late December

Year Three

Early January

Late January

Early March

Early April

Early May

Mid - June

Early July

Almost August

Early September

Mid - September

September’s End

Mid - October

Late November

End of November

Dear Ones –

Don’t you condemn me

        For having the luxury of enjoying

With such emotion!!!

        After being so far away before

        I treasure every experience more

        And hug it gently to my heart

While becoming grateful for each beauty

        I’ve come back to.

Last lines from an untitled poem by

Elizabeth Casper Rolfs

Dedication

For others who are yet to find that true joy lies within.

And

In appreciation of my granddaughter,

Grace Elizabeth Hopkins,

who brings me so much joy.

Thank you to:

Cindy Rice Entwistle for proofreading and

diligently doing all the editing

Kristi K. Sharpe for proofreading

Liz Hopkins for solving all of my computer dilemmas

A special thanks to

Grace Elizabeth Hopkins

for designing the front cover

And

Thank you to all the caring others, who have helped me in

the publishing of this book, as I could not have done this without you or your loving support!!!

Introduction

At age twenty-seven, I was just coming out of a painful marriage and learning about being a single parent to my children, ages two, three and five. My sister gave me a book titled Joy. I couldn’t relate to it. I had absolutely no concept of what joy meant. My life up to that point, involved a lot of suffering, including a psychiatric break-down in my early twenties. That led to many hospitalizations for major depression and the painful process of separation from my beloved children.

Now, forty-five years later, I have come to know joy. My experiences, over the last decade especially, have led me to a steady balance of fulfillment, contentment, and on-going serenity. Happiness, an inside job, comes and goes but a nourishing stream of overall contentment has me feeling a sense of quiet joy that I am most grateful for. I am grateful for all my teachers who have guided me along the way. Grateful for myself for the determination I’ve had in doing my inner and outer work. Grateful for the guidance and inspiration I have received from my Power Greater, my spiritual source.

Therefore this book is an over-flowing of my joy and my desire to share that joy with you. It is a reflective celebration. This is not a how to book. We each, with support and motivation, can find a variety of ways to move passed our suffering and open up to enjoying our lives. I believe that my own metamorphosis is an example, simply, that it is possible.

Year One

It is difficult to know where to begin so I’ll start with a little story about this afternoon.

I had just finished an appointment at the clinic for a consultation on some ongoing meds I take. I considered the whole thing a waste of time. When I checked in, my Reiki book in hand in case I had to wait, I was told to go around the corner and talk with Jeannie who was a natural healing enthusiast. We hit it off right away, talking about hot stone massage and rain drop therapy. She too, is a Reiki practitioner who mainly works on her friends and family. I told her about my small practice out of my home in Bayview, an area she was very familiar with. She was also interested in who my teachers were and how long I had been doing Reiki. As our conversation came to a close, I gave her my card, I said if she ever wanted a session and didn’t want to go to her teacher, to give me a call. That connection was so much fun and totally worth the half-hour drive to the clinic for a seven minute doctor appointment.

Afterwards I had a quick Culvers’ lunch before going to the grocery store. I was in the parking lot, waiting for my food. The server who brought me my food had a small, wooden cross around his neck. He said God bless you and I said Thank you. I rolled my window down to enjoy the beautiful, sunny day. I was listening to the birds chirping. My food tasted especially good, the crinkle cut French fries were the best I’ve ever had. I was reminded of a phrase that I have