We begin this meditation by reading from my just-published novel called Strong Sweet Tea.
And in this passage,
We learn more about the thoughts of Marianne,
One of the principal characters who is grieving the loss of her husband,
William.
Following the short reading,
We will take Marianne's insight into our meditation together.
So picture this,
If you can.
It is the middle of the night.
Marianne cannot sleep.
She has gotten up from her bed and wrapped herself up in her warm shawl,
Made by her mother many years earlier.
It always brings her comfort on nights like this one.
She leaves her bedroom to sit in William's rocking chair by the living room window,
Looking out onto the street,
Where one lonely gas-lit streetlamp seems to reflect its loneliness back to her as she looks out now.
Her thoughts have been all over the place tonight as she has been questioning why William has died,
And so suddenly,
Without any warning.
And as she sits there,
Lost in thoughts and endless questioning,
She begins to receive some insight.
And this is where we join her now.
Love is a healing source for grief,
Both for oneself as well as for others.
For as we grieve those whom we have loved and who have loved us,
We focus on this feeling of love through the memories we share together.
And we are shrouded in love's healing power during those moments of our memories.
It is this feeling of love that restores comfort to our aching feelings of loss and a sense of grace to our journey of remembrance of all those we loved and who have loved us.
For we have not lost their love,
Nor have they lost ours.
In other words,
Our loved one has died.
We cannot change that.
Our love for and from our loved one has not died.
Their love remains very much alive within us.
It is a part of us.
It remains a part of what makes us who we are.
It is this realization,
Then,
That allows us to continue our journey in love rather than in loss,
In grace rather than in grief.
And when we reach this place of understanding of the grace of grief within us,
Grief loses its overwhelming power over us and is replaced by the natural healing power of love within us.
This kind of thinking is the key to finding our way through grief to a place where we can begin to live with ourselves again.
These insightful thoughts were coming to Marianne so easily as she watched the moon slowly travel its course in the night sky.
She rested her head back against the top of William's rocking chair then,
Feeling the warmth from her mother's shawl.
She then placed her hands upon her chest,
Which was where she felt William's love within her heart,
And began to breathe into her sweet memories of him that she would always have,
Memories filled with the love she still felt for him and from him,
Aligning with her now as she closed her eyes,
Sleep coming naturally and easily to her exhausted body and mind.
And now I invite you to close your eyes and make any adjustments in the way you are sitting to be as comfortable as you can and begin to breathe more slowly.
Breathing with me,
Breathing in and out.
Again,
In through your nose and out through your mouth.
And one more time,
In and out,
Allowing your shoulders to be lowered into relaxation,
Your face and mouth to be relaxed.
As you allow your lower jaw to open slightly,
Keeping your lips closed and allowing your arms to fully relax against your body and invite your sweet memories of your loved one to fill your mind now.
Breathing slowly and deeply into your memories of love,
Connecting with this feeling of love within your body now and where you are feeling it.
And then place the palms of your hands there on your body directly over the feeling of love.
As you breathe into this memory now and the sensation of love it is bringing to you.
As you relax into the quiet sounds of music,
Allow yourself to be comforted by all of this,
Simply by remembering.
Remembering the feeling of loving times you shared,
The feeling of loving moments,
The feeling of loving pictures in your mind.
Knowing that this feeling of love remains within you still and always will.
Welcome needed healing for yourself now into this space of loving comfort within you.
Healing you with grace within your grief as you connect with the feeling of the love that is always present within you.
Your gift of healing love and grace from the one you now grieve.
This gift of healing love and grace will continue each time you remember your loved one and the love you shared that has not ended in death.
It remains very much alive within you.
And in your own time,
Either allow yourself to fall asleep or return to your day taking with you the feeling of love that will always remain within you in your memories and in that space in your heart where you feel love.
And please remember to be kind and gentle with yourself always.
Namaste.
