Tag: loss

Bob Martin – Today I’ll lick my wounds

Today, I Will Lick My Wounds
Wednesday, November 6, 2024 5:10 AM

Today, I will lick my wounds
and feel the deep ache of losing not just candidates,
but a way of life I thought I understood.
Everything feels distant, unfamiliar—
as though I’ve awoken in someone else’s country.
The urge to disappear presses down on me,
a heavy fog that whispers,
“Quit. Hibernate. Let the world move on without you.”

But I think of Frankl in the camps,
Mandela in his cell,
the Dalai Lama without a homeland,
Anne Frank dreaming of skies beyond her attic walls.
They refused to let the world steal their happiness,
refused to let suffering define their spirit.

I remind myself:
No decisions in this state of mind.
Just a breath,
then another.
Today, I rest and gather strength,
for tomorrow, I teach.

I have my practice—
a sanctuary built in the tolerance of discomfort,
and twelve bright souls,
who depend on me to rise.
For them, I will stand in front of the class,
share what I know,
and keep moving forward.

I will not let this darkness take more than it already has.
I will survive.
I will teach.
I will find, somehow, a way to be at peace
even when my country does not feel like my own.

The path is uncertain, but it is still mine to walk.

Grief

Grief is hard.

It is relentless

And exhausting,

And a constant reminder

Of the void in our lives.

Grief is painful.

A physical pain

Within our chest,

Reminding us

That our hearts have splintered.

Grief is exhausting.

It takes everything

To keep going.

Day after day,

To live for our loved ones.

Grief is isolating.

We feel alone,

As if no one understands.

As if we are drowning,

And no one notices

That we don’t know how to swim.

Grief is scary.

The thoughts in our heads

Get dark and real.

They tell us “just let go,”

As if no one would care

If we slipped away.

But we are not alone.

So many others know this pain,

They feel this void, too.

So say their name.

Tell the stories

Of those you’ve lost.

Tell me about your person,

And smile at the good memories.

Cry for their absence,

You are safe to grieve here.

We are not alone.

We are not alone.

We are not

Alone.

-Jessica VanNeste

Loosing Someone

You Don’t Just Lose Someone Once….

You lose them over and over,

sometimes many times a day.

When the loss, momentarily forgotten,

creeps up,

and attacks you from behind.

Fresh waves of grief as the realisation hits home,

they are gone.

Again.

You don’t just lose someone once,

you lose them every time you open your eyes to a new dawn,

and as you awaken,

so does your memory,

so does the jolting bolt of lightning that rips into your heart,

they are gone.

Again.

Losing someone is a journey,

not a one-off.

There is no end to the loss,

there is only a learned skill on how to stay afloat,

when it washes over.

Be kind to those who are sailing this stormy sea,

they have a journey ahead of them,

and a daily shock to the system each time they realise,

they are gone,

Again.

You don’t just lose someone once,

you lose them every day,

for a lifetime.~

~Donna Ashworth

Most Holy , most waken…the grieving

In the Lakota-Sioux tradition, a person who is grieving is considered most wakan, most holy. There’s a sense that when someone is struck by the sudden lightning of loss, he or she stands on the threshold of the spirit world. The prayers of those who grieve are considered especially strong, and it is proper to ask them for their help.

You might recall what it’s like to be with someone who has grieved deeply. The person has no layer of protection, nothing left to defend. The mystery is looking out through that person’s eyes. For the time being, he or she has accepted the reality of loss and has stopped clinging to the past or grasping at the future. In the groundless openness of sorrow, there is a wholeness of presence and a deep natural wisdom.

~ Tara Brach, True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart [Here: https://amzn.to/46vwJDJ ]

art | Frank Howell

https://frankhowell.art/

#midwivesofthesoul #tarabrach #frankhowell #grief

Loss of a Mother

THE LOSS OF A MOTHER

Is an inevitable part of our life.

We know it will come around

and we know the day will hurt

but we are not prepared,

never prepared

for the tearing.

The tearing of a part of our soul

from its very seams

stitches pulled asunder

heart wrenched in half

soul split in two.

But that tearing is not what you may think

it is it is not her leaving you

it is the loss of her physical form

which you have been so very used and attached to.

And now she must remove that part

for it no longer serves you

and you no longer need it

despite what you may think.

Because she made you well

and she built all of her love into you

cell by cell

thought by thought

lesson by lesson.

And the split that you feel

is simply the new the new way

you will carry on your love

for your mother

with your mother

just in a different way

for she did not leave

mother’s cannot leave

they are in you

look inside

she’s there

and that bond

that connection

is unable to be taken now

that is all yours to keep

forevermore.

Donna Ashworth

Artist: Avigail Sapir Art