Death: Harbinger of Hope

For those of us who feel, the sudden loss of a loved one evokes pain tantamount to one’s own execution.  This passing of another opens a chasm so deep, one’s soul bleeds as though it suffers its own small death.  Hunger, thirst, fatigue and all sense of decorum take to flight as the debilitating grip of grief shakes and weakens the very core of a person.  As fissures crack open the emotional foundation on which one stands, all motor and sensory functions are rendered perplexed as the mind loses its grip on reality. 

As knowledge of loss sets in, the gnarled hands of despair entangle the soul into a dark, dreary web from which there seems no escape.  Moments pass, unrelenting in their cruelty.  As memories surface, each one causes whiplash so severe, one loses the will to resist the pain.  Numbness sets in and the soul is engulfed totally in the vacuum of darkness, losing even, the sense of individuality.

It is at this moment precisely, this moment of rock-bottom, as it were, where a glimmer of hope exists.  The involuntary shedding of self-identity due to helplessness exposes the light within:  that basic person who remains covered by the mask of persona, hidden behind layers and layers of emotional fabric of all hues and textures.  The unveiling of this person, laid to rest after the innocence of childhood, can lead to profound change and the discovery of immeasurable strength.  This untapped source, ever-available, is accessed most easily during the most trying of times.  As persona is dropped, the light within shines unencumbered, growing stronger and brighter, until light alone remains.