Second, this was such a beautiful read. It’s such a magical, comforting perspective to think that all those we have lost continue to live on around us. Thank you for your vulnerability and for sharing 🩵
Autumn, thank you. I’m touched this resonated with you. And yes I find it comforting too, not something I’d thought about before losing my mom. Thank you for reading xoxo
A beautifully written piece. At the age of 74 I think of death a bit more often than I used to. I think about in the early morning warm body checks of my wife lying next to me. I think about it was I scan photos from the past and see living images of those who have left. I think about in my writings on American history and the tombstones that are scattered all around us tombstones of people who left indelible marks in our historical arc. Thank you for sharing
Gary, your comment is beautiful, thank you for sharing. I resonate so deeply with what you've said, there's really such beauty in the acceptance and welcoming of age, death, grief, the cycle of life we're in. Thank you for connecting
You painted a lovely picture of grief. I really relate to where your mind went in your grief--the objects you found your mother in--these everyday objects that you filled with so much life!
Thank you so much. One of the strangest parts of grief for me was how physical it became. I expected grief to live in memory, but so often it showed up in objects, sounds, smells, light through a window. I'm glad that resonated with you, though I'm sorry you know that landscape too. xo
Beautiful piece Jo. I’m glad I found your work after you followed me:) Thanks for that by the way:)
“Proof that one life pressed hard enough against another to leave an imprint.”
Incisive and poignant.
Your exploration of heat, warmth, energy and continuity alongside loss and change, while connecting this to thermodynamics is genuinely interesting, original and insightful. 🙏🏾
Thank you, that means a great deal. The thermodynamics connection arrived almost by accident, but once it did, it felt like a language for something I'd been trying to articulate for a long time. I'm so glad you found your way here, and I'm looking forward to reading more of your work too. <3
"A quiet turning toward the idea that love does not end where presence ends, but continues as change, as diffusion, as the slow becoming of everything into everything else."
Ah, I don't know, words feel light compared to what this induced in me. I shed a tear and lit a candle just now. Thank you for being here.
This has really touched my heart! I think writing is often an attempt to reach across distance and say, "I've stood in this place too." Knowing these words accompanied you, even briefly, feels like a gift. Thank you for reading so openly and for sharing that moment with me.
This is so beautiful, thanks for sharing. Everything you've said resonates deeply. This physicality of grief, the energy of it - it's so real. I used to hate the triggers you mentioned, like getting a smell or sound that reminds me of mom. But now I love it because that's a connection to her that I still get to experience
Ah, I totally hear this. At first those moments feel almost unbearable because they remind us of the absence. But over time, at least for me, some of them have become gifts. Brief moments where the distance between then and now feels a little smaller. Not because the grief disappears, but because the love becomes more visible within it. Thank you for sharing that with me.
I love this so much Jo! The soundtrack of our love ones, definitely linger inside our hearts & minds. The smells, colors and even the feel of fabrics are part of the memory!
I also love how you brought in our own energy of what we leave behind..
You are such a deep thinker who has a gift of communication through writing..
So often I am alone with my memories but never linger to put in words!
oh I adore that, the soundtrack of a life. The smells, fabrics, colours, recipes, songs, all these tiny things that seem so ordinary until someone is gone and you realise they were carrying pieces of a person all along.
And thank you for what you said about my writing. One of the reasons I write is because I think so many of us carry enormous memories and feelings that rarely get spoken aloud. I'm often trying to find words for things I suspect other people have felt too. Knowing that it connected with you means more than I can say.
First, I’m so sorry for your loss.
Second, this was such a beautiful read. It’s such a magical, comforting perspective to think that all those we have lost continue to live on around us. Thank you for your vulnerability and for sharing 🩵
Autumn, thank you. I’m touched this resonated with you. And yes I find it comforting too, not something I’d thought about before losing my mom. Thank you for reading xoxo
A beautifully written piece. At the age of 74 I think of death a bit more often than I used to. I think about in the early morning warm body checks of my wife lying next to me. I think about it was I scan photos from the past and see living images of those who have left. I think about in my writings on American history and the tombstones that are scattered all around us tombstones of people who left indelible marks in our historical arc. Thank you for sharing
Gary, your comment is beautiful, thank you for sharing. I resonate so deeply with what you've said, there's really such beauty in the acceptance and welcoming of age, death, grief, the cycle of life we're in. Thank you for connecting
You painted a lovely picture of grief. I really relate to where your mind went in your grief--the objects you found your mother in--these everyday objects that you filled with so much life!
Thank you so much. One of the strangest parts of grief for me was how physical it became. I expected grief to live in memory, but so often it showed up in objects, sounds, smells, light through a window. I'm glad that resonated with you, though I'm sorry you know that landscape too. xo
It’s a landscape we all gotta traverse one day, might as well make the journey meaningful!! xo
Beautiful piece Jo. I’m glad I found your work after you followed me:) Thanks for that by the way:)
“Proof that one life pressed hard enough against another to leave an imprint.”
Incisive and poignant.
Your exploration of heat, warmth, energy and continuity alongside loss and change, while connecting this to thermodynamics is genuinely interesting, original and insightful. 🙏🏾
Thank you, that means a great deal. The thermodynamics connection arrived almost by accident, but once it did, it felt like a language for something I'd been trying to articulate for a long time. I'm so glad you found your way here, and I'm looking forward to reading more of your work too. <3
That’s my pleasure. It’s absolutely inspired writing:)
"A quiet turning toward the idea that love does not end where presence ends, but continues as change, as diffusion, as the slow becoming of everything into everything else."
Ah, I don't know, words feel light compared to what this induced in me. I shed a tear and lit a candle just now. Thank you for being here.
This has really touched my heart! I think writing is often an attempt to reach across distance and say, "I've stood in this place too." Knowing these words accompanied you, even briefly, feels like a gift. Thank you for reading so openly and for sharing that moment with me.
This is so beautiful, thanks for sharing. Everything you've said resonates deeply. This physicality of grief, the energy of it - it's so real. I used to hate the triggers you mentioned, like getting a smell or sound that reminds me of mom. But now I love it because that's a connection to her that I still get to experience
Ah, I totally hear this. At first those moments feel almost unbearable because they remind us of the absence. But over time, at least for me, some of them have become gifts. Brief moments where the distance between then and now feels a little smaller. Not because the grief disappears, but because the love becomes more visible within it. Thank you for sharing that with me.
Yes, yes, yes!
I love this so much Jo! The soundtrack of our love ones, definitely linger inside our hearts & minds. The smells, colors and even the feel of fabrics are part of the memory!
I also love how you brought in our own energy of what we leave behind..
You are such a deep thinker who has a gift of communication through writing..
So often I am alone with my memories but never linger to put in words!
You are a gift to me!! 💕
oh I adore that, the soundtrack of a life. The smells, fabrics, colours, recipes, songs, all these tiny things that seem so ordinary until someone is gone and you realise they were carrying pieces of a person all along.
And thank you for what you said about my writing. One of the reasons I write is because I think so many of us carry enormous memories and feelings that rarely get spoken aloud. I'm often trying to find words for things I suspect other people have felt too. Knowing that it connected with you means more than I can say.
Love you. 💕
This is a beautiful tribute. My mom passed a few years ago and this resonates with me.