“What can be done in a hell? They sang. For where there is no more hope, song remains.”

~ Victor Hugo

I’ve been reading the unabridged Les Misérables for much longer than I care to admit. (It’s kind of a heavy book.) I recently put it on hold in order to read some borrowed books I must soon return. As nice as it is to enjoy something a little lighter, I can hardly wait to dive back into the tale of Jean Valjean.

Les Mis is a novel sparkling with literary gems, and one jumped out at me a few pages before I put down the novel. “Where there is no more hope, song remains.”

I sing a lot. Although I’m no great singer, I find it oddly therapeutic. I frequently sing at work when my coworkers are out of earshot, and lately I’ve been singing more than usual.

My job has seemed stressful and thankless in the past few weeks. (I am so, so thankful to begin a vacation in a few days!) Besides coffee, which is an ever present help in trouble, few things in my job have encouraged and cheered me more than song.

The phrase above from Lez Mizzy reminded me of how thankful I am for the gift of singing. When work seems hard, life seems dark, or the coffeepot runs dry, song remains. I’m thankful for it.