FEBRUARY 16
Should his heart break and the grief pour out, it would flow
over the whole earth, it seems, and yet, no one sees it.
—ANTON CHEKHOVIt is an odd feeling to be walking along a busy street, or go-
ing in and out of stores, with a grief so central and preoc-
cupying it seems to define our existence, and yet people
walk by not noticing at all!
Are we puzzled, and perhaps a little angry, that the world
should continue on its merry way? Somehow we feel the
earth should stop spinning and acknowledge our grief.
But when we stop and think about it, we don’t really want
all the rest of the world to go awry, just to keep us company.
We need whatever security an otherwise well-ordered world
might offer. Just as well, then, that these passersby don’t
know the turmoil and sorrow within us as we brush past.
And who knows what they may be carrying in their own
hearts?
I don’t need everyone else to be sucked into my grief, as long as I
can claim my own space for grieving.