In Episode 143, we delve into the profound experience of grief through a deeply personal story. A good friend faced the unexpected loss of his beloved dog, discovering him lifeless in the yard alongside a coral snake. This heartbreaking moment serves as a powerful reminder of how quickly life can change, leaving us overwhelmed with sorrow.
Join us as we explore the complexities of grieving, illustrated by the poignant words of poets like Emily Dickinson and e.e. cummings. We discuss how grief can feel like a raging tornado, turning our world upside down and bringing a pain that is difficult to understand or articulate. Yet, amid this turmoil, we find that the journey of healing involves more than just letting go. It’s about cherishing the memories that bring us joy and ultimately moving forward.
Through this episode, we hope to inspire listeners to embrace their memories and understand that healing is possible. Just as my friend will find solace in new beginnings with a future dog, we too can carry our loved ones in our hearts, allowing their memory to fuel our desire to embrace life’s goodness.
Lo! where the Moon along the sky
Sails with her happy destiny;
Oft is she hid from mortal eye
Or dimly seen,
But when the clouds asunder fly
How bright her mien!
Far different we–a froward race,
Thousands though rich in Fortune’s grace
With cherished sullenness of pace
Their way pursue,
Ingrates who wear a smileless face
The whole year through.
If kindred humours e’er would make
My spirit droop for drooping’s sake,
From Fancy following in thy wake,
Bright ship of heaven!
A counter impulse let me take
And be forgiven.
Gorgia Douglas Johnson
Behold ! the living thrilling lines
That course the blood like madd’ning wines,
And leap with scintillating spray
Across the guards of ecstasy.
The flame that lights the lurid spell
Springs from the soul’s artesian well,
Its fairy filament of art
Entwines the fragments of a heart.
Mirabai
Unbreakable, O Lord,
Is the love
That binds me to You:
Like a diamond,
It breaks the hammer that strikes it.
My heart goes into You
As the polish goes into the gold.
As the lotus lives in its water,
I live in You.
Like the bird
That gazes all night
At the passing moon,
I have lost myself dwelling in You.
O my Beloved Return.
I Taught Myself To Live Simply
Anna Akhmatova
I taught myself to live simply and wisely,
to look at the sky and pray to God,
and to wander long before evening
to tire my superfluous worries.
When the burdocks rustle in the ravine
and the yellow-red rowanberry cluster droops
I compose happy verses
about life’s decay, decay and beauty.
I come back. The fluffy cat
licks my palm, purrs so sweetly
and the fire flares bright
on the saw-mill turret by the lake.
Only the cry of a stork landing on the roof
occasionally breaks the silence.
If you knock on my door
I may not even hear.
Four Things
Henry Van Dyke
Four things a man must learn to do
If he would make his record true:
To think without confusion clearly;
To love his fellow-men sincerely;
To act from honest motives purely;
To trust in God and Heaven securely.
Source: Gutenberg. org
Dreams
D. H. Lawrence
But the dreamers of the day are dangerous people,
For they dream their dreams with open eyes,
And make them come true.
Be the Best of Whatever You Are
Douglas Malloch
If you can’t be a pine on the top of the hill
Be a scrub in the valley—but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can’t be a tree.
If you can’t be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway some happier make;
If you can’t be a muskie then just be a bass—
But the liveliest bass in the lake!
We can’t all be captains, we’ve got to be crew,
There’s something for all of us here.
There’s big work to do and there’s lesser to do,
And the task we must do is the near.
If you can’t be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can’t be the sun be a star;
It isn’t by size that you win or you fail—
Be the best of whatever you are!
