DECEMBER 12
Dead and gone though they may be, as we come to under-
stand them in new ways, it is as though they come to under-
stand us—and through them we come to undersand
ourselves—in new ways, too.
—FREDERICK BUECHNERThis delicate dance with the souls of the dead is something
we don’t begin to understand right away. We think the im-
mediate relationship is ended, though we know we will
continue to remember, and to grieve.
But as we dwell in memory on our experiences with the
one who is physically gone, his or her psychic presence,
rather than being confined to the body we knew and loved,
seems somehow to expand and surround us with its gentle
understanding, its compassion and love.
So we enter upon different kinds of conversations, often
exchanges without words. We seem to arrive at a mutual
understanding and appreciation for the goodness and the
difficulty we were in each other’s life. We’re able to smile
benevolently at all that flurry and to relish, instead, this deep
love and peace.
Dear departed love, continue to be with me, as I will with you.