Take time to get in touch ` with something stronger, better'

Albert Camus was a French philosopher, author, and journalist, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957 — he was the second youngest recipient in history.

One of his well-known quotes is: “In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. I realized, through it all, that in the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger-something better, pushing right back.”

We, too, can get to those places of love, smiles, calm and warmth. Sometimes it is a quiet time alone. Other times it is with a companion with whom you can focus on something other than the raucous voices and the disturbing clamor that surrounds us.

My friend Alison Taylor, who lives here in Oklahoma City, and her daughter, Lauren, who lives in Austin, have created one of those places. They have dinner together every Tuesday evening.

On the weekend, Lauren sends her mother a grocery shopping list for their weekly meal. On Tuesday evenings, they connect by FaceTime. Not only can they hear, they also can see one another. Simultaneously, Alison in Oklahoma and Lauren in Texas cook, talk, laugh, eat and then clean up — and they do it together though separated by 388 miles.

For a few hours each week, Alison and Lauren take a break from the outside forces that at times seem overwhelming and, like Camus discovered, it puts them in touch with something stronger, something better.