What is it about the loss of loved ones that allows us to go through the unthinkable pain we do and emerge stronger on the side of life?

We will likely never forget these people who played such pivotal roles in our development. They are an ingrained aspect of who we are, making it difficult to separate where they end and we begin.  Therefore, we don’t separate, we carry them within for the rest of the ride that is our life. They are adopted and woven into the very fabric of our being. They never leave us, and so, in some indistinct way, they live on.

At times, a sense of their presence can be so enormous it feels impossible that they are not here. At times, they migrate restrained and unimposing, to a back section of the stage.

Are they an entity appearing at will or are they part of our thoughts and imagination manifesting? Does it even matter? More important, I believe, is that our existence brings these individuals to life, if only through the memory of a gesture, thought or song. What a lovely way for those we love to stay around and keep us company for the rest of our lives, and perhaps, beyond.