NOVEMBER 1
...we talked in a kind of ocean depth of memories where
magic fish swam past, as we evoked our parents and Joy’s
sisters, all dead now but with us for an hour in that exquisite
room where time past and time present flowed together.
—MAY SARTONWe often speak of the “communion of saints.”
But what we yearn for most particularly, we who have
lost loved ones, is to have our own particular “saints”
gathered with us. We want to sense that we are present with
them and they with us.
People have different experiences of this phenomenon,
all the way from hearing voices and seeing ghostly presences
to having strong memories of loved ones which call them,
almost, to our side. In whatever form this experience occurs,
it is a blessing.
But surely among the richest of these experiences are the
times when, with nostalgia and often with affectionate
laughter, we share with others our memories of someone
we love who has gone on before. We leave such experiences
warmed and strengthened by our common history, our
commemorations of life and of love.
Shared memories can be a source of comfort and joy.