I heard the most beautiful interview yesterday on Oprah’s channel 156, XM radio. She does a soul series and covers spiritual matters way more in depth than she can on her television show. Anyway…she asked Buddhist Monk Thich Naht Hahn (author of many books, btw) about death and the following is what he replied.
I’m paraphrasing, but he said,
Look at the sky and pick out a favorite cloud. When we watch it and when that cloud changes form, we don’t get sad. We know the cloud isn’t gone, it has just changed forms. We know it is rain, and ocean, and stream and river and mist. When a loved one makes their physical transition, if we focus on the form, and on missing the form, we might not notice our darling one raining down on us, whispering, “I’m here. I’m here.”
What a beautiful way to think of it. Coincidently, I read this on the anniversary of my Nan’s death. Last night it was blowing a hoolie – snow, high winds and bitterly cold – and today when we went out for an adventure the sun shone and it was just beautiful crispy blue. Nan hated snow.
wow. right now, as I focus my thoughts on a friend whose 10 year old daughter was just diagnosed with aggressive leukemia, I find this an amazingly beautiful metaphor. Of course, I hope I wont need to introduce this notion to my friend for a long time.
Thanks for sharing.
-e-
-e-,
I will say a prayer for your friend’s little one. Seeing her in her perfection.
Love.
An interesting, comforting way to think of death….
This is fantastic. Thank you.
love.
I like this. I might pass it on to my MIL who recently lost her mother.
This is still swirling around in my brain.
Oh. Love that so much.
And I could see saying it to a child, it is so simple and true.
🙂
just changing forms – what a comforting thought.
This is beautiful. I will share this with some of the staff of the children’s grief center where I used to facilitate.
Thanks for visiting The Marmelade Gypsy! (And for kind words on my orange cat!)
Love that and everything about that.