Hasn't it been an odd summer? Do you feel it, or is it just me, absorbing loss and sorrow in my own small world and in the larger world? This week's news was almost that fabled last straw. The lights went out. Joy—gone. Or so it feels.
I keep finding myself doodling hearts. A cliché, I know, but a reminder that despite disaster and war; and bombs and planes full of people plummeting from the sky; the deaths of friends and heroes; and sadness and worry, life goes on, is good and it is love that saves us.
In one of my favorite books, the Hotel New Hampshire, the Berry family dog, Sorrow, dies. The family cannot bear to part with him, so one of the sons stuffs him. In a tragic plane crash that kills two members of the family, Sorrow's taxidermied body bobs to the surface of the lake and it is observed that "Sorrow floats" which becomes a catch phrase as the family encounters life's highest and lowest moments and accepts that a measure of sorrow is a necessary part of a full, rich life.
It's a lesson we all finally learn, or need to learn, but can we, please, for now, just stop with the bad news? Sorrow floats. It does, but I could do with a little break. How about you?
You said it well, and I say "Amen"!!!!
ReplyDeleteTerry, so beautifully written and thoughtful, as always. The sorrow does seem to be piling on of late and we need some blessed relief.
ReplyDelete...perfect
ReplyDeleteLovely, thoughtful post. Hotel NH is one of my favorites too.
ReplyDeleteYes! thank you Terry for this post.
ReplyDeleteYour post is spot on,as usual. My mom,sister and I LOVED that book too. Julie
ReplyDeleteI agree! I made a little quilted piece last night to try to make something positive to mark the week. Felt good!
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