Absent a Piece of Your Heart
“How was your day, dear?
Technology has made this question virtually obsolete.
We learn who was cut off in traffic, or had an over fattened latte via social media seconds after the fact.
We learn throughout the day which celebrity has behaved badly, or where Mother Nature has shaken her fist.
The influx of ‘instant’ and ‘continuous’ has desensitized us.
The misfortunes of the world have become a mere speed bump in our day. Barely worthy of applying the brakes before we regain the gas pedal to continue down the road.
When hardships touch an acquaintance we feel the impact, acknowledge the dent, but the car is still drivable.
When tragedy strikes close... we’re totaled...helpless...a twisted heap of smoking metal and jagged glass.
Irrevocable heartbreak.
There are no cards or platitudes worthy of syllables yet they fall, with hot tears, from our mouths.
Today my heart is burdened with grief for a friend. Her unimaginable reality looms in every quiet corner to repeatedly pierce my heart.
Gone too young...gone too soon...
Seeking comfort in the face of the wreckage I’m acutely aware of the dancing rays of sun, the soft patter of rain, the tickle of laughter...
I dismiss the media nonsense beseeching my attention and witness the gifts of true humanity...Compassion, Kindness, Understanding, Tenderness, Goodness, Generosity, in the outpouring of love for my friend and her family.
There’ll be no answers, explanations, or clarity...only acceptance of the surreal, conclusive, truth.
Gone too young...gone too soon...
We’re bombarded by ‘live in the moment’, ‘live each day to the fullest’ mottos, but often apply the slogan to our personal goals and dreams.
Today I’m thinking about the fullness people in our lives provide... about the emptiness their absence creates.
“How was your day, dear?” ...a particularly vital question.
A lot can happen between tedious traffic and a poorly prepared latte.
Between hello and goodbye - Between goodbye and hello.
If you’re fortunate enough to have your loved one return home from today’s venture into the world, give them your full attention. Absorb each moment. Too quickly it may become a precious memory.
“You gave me a forever within the numbered days...”
“... we’d had this brief but still infinite, forever.”
“Some infinities are bigger than others.” The Fault in Our Stars ~ John Green
Not a story of dying, but of living and loving with eyes open to the miracle of each breath we’re given, each breath shared.
“Great loss is a tribute to great love,” a Goddess once shared with me in my time of grief.
A simple TRUTH.
Beyond the truth? Getting through...Never over...
An expedition...an unwanted, unplanned voyage to discover a life absent of a piece of your heart.
Take small steps, dear friend, and rest often.
The comfort of countless arms are ready to catch you should you slip and we'll cradle you until you’re ready to step again.
~chat soon, Laura
“Watch your way then, as a cautious traveler; and don’t be gazing at that mountain or river in the distance, and saying ‘How shall I ever get over them?’ but keep to the present little inch that is before you, and accomplish that in the little moment that belongs to it. The mountain and the river can only be passed in the same way; and, when you come to them, you will come to the light and strength that belong to them. ” - M.A. Kelty
