I looked up the origin of the phrase “true blue.”

Some people believe that it refers to the endless blue sky above us, the blue yonder.  Others suggest that it might have had something to do with the purity of noble lineage, as in “blue blood.”  Most likely, the idea was first associated with a particular dye-making technique in Coventry, England, in the Middle Ages.  Coventry Blue was the best.  It didn’t run or fade like other blue dyes of the period. It lasted, it remained true.  The complete, original phrase was, “as true as Coventry Blue.”

It seems apt that “blue,” now, can also mean “sad.” 

Because being true to our own feelings, the completeness of our emotional landscape, almost always includes some measure of nostalgia and heartache, or at least bittersweetness.

While the colors of grief and loss, with time, do become less sharp — fading with wear — the truth is that sadness endures.  All of our feelings tend to become familiar and maybe even comfortable the longer we inhabit them.  But still the blues can pop with renewed intensity from time to time.  This often happens around the holidays, especially.   

It is so important to remember that this sadness doesn’t necessarily mean that something’s wrong.  Neither wrong with the world, nor wrong with us.

It’s okay to be blue, to mourn, to feel moody and melancholy and maybe even a little miserable.  It’s okay to remember the past, and look back with sweet sorrow, love, and longing.  It is always more than okay — it’s kind of essential — for us to try to recognize and honor what’s genuinely going on in our hearts, whatever it is…

It’s also perfectly fine to be confusingly happy at the same time.  We get to be complex.  Honestly, this kind of contradictory mixed bag of emotions is probably the most authentic expression for most of us most of the time.

Sure, the season calls for the donning of gay apparel — sparkling gowns, and funny-ugly sweaters, and reindeer ears, and jingle bells.   That doesn’t mean we can’t get our blues on as well. 

Let’s add some bluesy notes to the “fa la la la la.”  Let’s share honestly the beautiful fullness of our hearts.

This Sunday, we hold a special place for our ambivalent, convoluted wholeness during the holiday season — happy and sad, in love and loss, with tenderness towards ourselves and each other through it all.

Even when I’m blue, it is a joy to be with you, friends.  Celebrating our connection whether we’re together in person or far from each other, whether we’re up or down, while we keep on keeping on navigating the ever-shifting terrain of human community and possibility.

See you this Sunday, December 22, 10:00 am, at q-Staff Theater.  With Patty Stephens and special music by Lucy Gilliland.  XO, Drew

©2024 Drew Groves