“For me, I got my music. Piano. That’s how I lean in, find peace. You just need to figure out what that is for you.”
“And then what? I’m all better?”
“Then you’re on the road to better.”
– Dwayne Pride and Christopher LeSalle, NCIS: New Orleans
Season 2, Episode 4, “I Do”

Continuing from last week, with the next piece of dialogue from that same scene, I felt it worth mentioning these two pieces of wisdom separately, to better appreciate how they fit together.

As I mentioned, LeSalle is suffering terribly from the loss of the woman he loves. He’s been trying to console himself with the pleasures the world has to offer, but all that’s doing is slowly hurting him more and more. To truly heal, we have to stop trying to snuff the pain out by indulging our base desires, and face that pain head-on instead. But there’s more to it than that.

When we are hurting, what we are looking for is peace, and that peace cannot be found in what the world offers us. We need to look within, find it within ourselves.

There are things which can help, of course, namely the things we are passionate about, the things we love just for the sake of their beauty. For Dwayne, it’s music. He loves good food and company, but his greatest love is music. When he plays, pouring his soul into every note, he’s able to let go of his pain, let the big, bad world fall away for a time. It’s his shelter, his refuge, his haven, his sanctuary. Within that sacred space, he rests and recovers, rekindling his strength. With that, he’s able to return to the world ready to face it head-on again.

That’s what he’s advising LeSalle to do: find his own way to replenish his inner reservoir, to let go of the torment of his loss.

LeSalle is skeptical, but earnest, when he asks if that’s all he needs to do, and then “poof” he’s all better.

Again, Pride has learned from experience: healing takes time.

We have to face the pain head-on, and we have to find our own form of peace, but we can’t rush through it and get it done so easy as that. This is not a cup of instant noodles, after all. There are no shortcuts. No, we must be patient, and hold to our hope. We must exercise our faith and believe that we can heal.

To me, that is a very important part of what Christmas is about (see, there is method to my madness!). Christmas is about the joy of charity, the faith of forgiveness, and the hope of healing. Pain cannot be avoided, but I believe in happy endings, and new beginnings.

However long “the road to better” is, we can travel it, because even in our darkest, loneliest moments, we are not alone. 🙂

In that spirit, Merry Christmas! 😀