I was thinking last night of this moment at the end of “the Return of the King” and then found the clip online. It’s hard to put into words right now how I am feeling about the momentous moment I am in, but this does a good job of explaining how I am thinking of it.
“I was for a while troubled with the haunting fear that if I handled the flower freely its bloom would fade—the sweet charm of freshness would leave it. I did not know then that it was no transitory blossom, but rather the radiant resemblance of one, cut in an indestructible gem.” — Charlotte Brontë
I believe someone (it may have been you, Tom) said the cage door is open & soon the bird will be free. Honestly, I think that is the best description there is of losing someone you love.
Let your "kids"(cats) help you to get thru this & heal.
Yes, TC. There’s one path with a few or many and then a path forms off that one creating a new experience for one or many. Endings but always beginnings. It’s the way of the Light.
I've never seen LotR, but I'm typing through tears. Goodbyes are so final and so crushing in the moment. Yet we thereafter find both the loss and the presence of our beloveds in the most unexpected places. Love to you, Tom. You and Jurate done good.
Oh, Tom, Tom, no one can watch that bittersweet clip and know through it your deep feelings, and not weep for what was and what is. We know Frodo's smile as he leaves his friends presages a future of contentment for them and, now, may it do so for you. Still, farewells are so, so hard.
"Why love, when losing hurts so much? The happiness then is part of the pain now....." (C.S. Lewis) I am sorry the end is upon you, Tom. I too have had to say goodbye to a beloved wife and there is no good way through it. This exquisite scene from LOTR is perhaps the model we hope for the one departing - not the end, but repose and freedom from the pain suffered now. When my first wife died, someone sent me a poem about a ship leaving a port to sail the seas, and as she left the harbor people cried out "There she goes", while in the destination's harbor others cried "Here she comes....." May it be so.
That is the poem our hospice nurse shard on the initial visit with my mother in law; the nurse had been in my m-I-l’s English class as a kid (she was 61 and died from lymphoma). It really does capture the hope there is with death.
Bruce, This poem is very close to my heart. It helped me when my mother was dying and I always hung on to it. I ended up reading it a few years later at my nephew's memorial. Thank you for posting this. This and the scene from LOTR together are very comforting.
" the bonds of love you have forged in life cannot be unravelled by death" ....but this is definitely the hard part. Holding you all in love in this moment.
"To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go." Mary Oliver
The much left undone is left to those who can write and complete another chapter. None of us ever leaves the story. We are awarded a new voice to tell the tale and sing our songs. 💓
Into the light, with nothing to fear, for most of us that will be our destiny. Courage my friend, there really is nothing to fear. Love is something you can rely on that transcends our mortality, count on it.
“I was for a while troubled with the haunting fear that if I handled the flower freely its bloom would fade—the sweet charm of freshness would leave it. I did not know then that it was no transitory blossom, but rather the radiant resemblance of one, cut in an indestructible gem.” — Charlotte Brontë
Thanks.
very beautiful, Fern.
David, yes, the purity of Charlotte Bronte's expression wedded the feeling.
Wonderful❤️
Goodbyes break our hearts, over and over. So sad for you and everyone who has to say goodbye today.
I believe someone (it may have been you, Tom) said the cage door is open & soon the bird will be free. Honestly, I think that is the best description there is of losing someone you love.
Let your "kids"(cats) help you to get thru this & heal.
Yes, TC. There’s one path with a few or many and then a path forms off that one creating a new experience for one or many. Endings but always beginnings. It’s the way of the Light.
Love 💜
I've never seen LotR, but I'm typing through tears. Goodbyes are so final and so crushing in the moment. Yet we thereafter find both the loss and the presence of our beloveds in the most unexpected places. Love to you, Tom. You and Jurate done good.
All three are very worthwhile. Fantasy at its best and most meaningful.
Oh, Tom, Tom, no one can watch that bittersweet clip and know through it your deep feelings, and not weep for what was and what is. We know Frodo's smile as he leaves his friends presages a future of contentment for them and, now, may it do so for you. Still, farewells are so, so hard.
"Why love, when losing hurts so much? The happiness then is part of the pain now....." (C.S. Lewis) I am sorry the end is upon you, Tom. I too have had to say goodbye to a beloved wife and there is no good way through it. This exquisite scene from LOTR is perhaps the model we hope for the one departing - not the end, but repose and freedom from the pain suffered now. When my first wife died, someone sent me a poem about a ship leaving a port to sail the seas, and as she left the harbor people cried out "There she goes", while in the destination's harbor others cried "Here she comes....." May it be so.
The poem is "Gone from my Sight" by Henry van Dyke -
I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white
sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until at length
she hangs like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come
to mingle with each other.
Then, someone at my side says;
"There, she is gone!"
"Gone where?"
Gone from my sight. That is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull
and spar as she was when she left my side
and she is just as able to bear her
load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment when someone
at my side says, "There, she is gone!"
There are other eyes watching her coming,
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout;
"Here she comes!"
And that is dying.
That is the poem our hospice nurse shard on the initial visit with my mother in law; the nurse had been in my m-I-l’s English class as a kid (she was 61 and died from lymphoma). It really does capture the hope there is with death.
Bruce, This poem is very close to my heart. It helped me when my mother was dying and I always hung on to it. I ended up reading it a few years later at my nephew's memorial. Thank you for posting this. This and the scene from LOTR together are very comforting.
Dear TC,
" the bonds of love you have forged in life cannot be unravelled by death" ....but this is definitely the hard part. Holding you all in love in this moment.
Are you sure about that first part…
Yes.
"To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go." Mary Oliver
The much left undone is left to those who can write and complete another chapter. None of us ever leaves the story. We are awarded a new voice to tell the tale and sing our songs. 💓
It’s never easy nor is it fair. Feeling for you, Tom.
I’d not seen Lord of the Rings and what captured me was his “at peace” smile as he turned to them…
Embracing you both…🤍
"In our life there is a single color, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love." Marc Chagall.
You are in the hearts of everyone who loves you. Hold this knowledge as the gold it is. Invaluable.
Into the light, with nothing to fear, for most of us that will be our destiny. Courage my friend, there really is nothing to fear. Love is something you can rely on that transcends our mortality, count on it.
You both were so loved. That love will never die. She will always be there. If you just look for her. ❤️
The search continues, forever, it seems
Parting from our loved ones is sad & hard. Know that you have a community that cares for you. Peace to all.