Poem: Life is but a stopping place

Life is but a stopping place
A pause in what’s to be
A resting place along the road
To sweet eternity.

We all have different journeys,
Different paths along the way
We all were meant to learn some things
But never meant to stay ...

Our destination is a place
Far greater than we know.
For some the journey’s quicker
For some the journey’s slow.

And when the journey finally ends,
We’ll claim a great reward,
And find an everlasting peace,
Together with the Lord

[Anon]

Poem: The Fallen Limb

A limb has fallen from the family tree.
I keep hearing a voice that says, “Grieve not for me.”
Remember the best times, the laughter, the song.
The good life I lived while I was strong.
Continue my heritage, I’m counting on you.
Keep smiling and surely the sun will shine through.
My mind is at ease, my soul is at rest.
Remembering all, how I truly was blessed.
Continue traditions, no matter how small.
Go on with your life, don’t worry about falls
I miss you all dearly, so keep up your chin.
Until the day comes we’re together again.

Author Unknown

Poem: A Part of Me Died

It didn’t kill me, but something changed,
A piece of me lost, forever estranged.

I walked away, yet not the same,
A shadowed soul, a quiet flame.

That day took part of who I was,
Left me searching, without cause.

I carry on, but feel the void,
A heart once whole, now destroyed.

It didn’t end me, but I’m not whole -
An echo remains, deep in my soul.

I’m here, I breathe, but truth denied -
A part of me, that day, quietly died.

Grief

I had my own notion of grief.

I thought it was a sad time that followed the death of someone you love. And you had to push through it to get to the other side.

But I'm learning there is no other side. There is no pushing through. 

But rather, there is absorption. Adjustment. Acceptance. And grief is not something you complete. But rather you endure. Grief is not a task to finish, and move on, But an element of yourself - an alteration of your being. A new way of seeing, a new definition of self.

[Thank you, Valerie.]

On all the other days ...

The greatest loss in life ...