Daily Inspirational Message for November 19, 2013

The thing about old friends is not that they love you, but that they know you…They look at you and don’t really think you look older because they’ve grown old along with you and, like the faded paint in a beloved room, they’re used to the look. And then one of them is gone and you’ve lost a chunk of yourself. The stories of the terrorist attacks of 2001, the tsunami, the Japanese earthquake always used numbers, the deaths of thousands a measure of how great the disaster. Catastrophe is numerical. Loss is singular, one beloved at a time.
– Anna Quindlen  

There are some losses we never really get over. We go on with our lives, we love others and we create new happiness, and yet that hole is never filled. At unexpected moments, we find ourselves thinking of that special person and missing them as much as ever. We’re told that time heals all wounds, and I do believe it’s true to the extent that we manage to feel happy again even though we may have once believed that would be impossible. Being happy again doesn’t mean we stop missing that special person, however. Continuing to miss them isn’t a bad thing; indeed, I think it’s part of what makes love so beautiful and life so precious. That ache we feel in our hearts when we think of someone dear to us who has left this world is one way we honor how precious they will always be to us. There’s a poignant beauty in that feeling that is rooted deep in the soul. While I don’t enjoy feeling sad any more than anyone else, I hope I never stop missing those I’ve loved deeply, and that I am always able to shed a tear when I think about how wonderful it would be if they were here with me today.