loss isn’t an uncommon thing.
we lose our keys, our train of thought, our place in a book.
we lose money when we bet big on red, but the ball lands on black.
we lose courage when in the face of a large obstacle.
we lose things all the time.
what we lose less often is a person. and that pain is particular and singular, and leaves a very specific person-shaped hole in our heart.
we lose friends when we grow apart or move away.
we lose those we love through unexpected tragedy or when they slowly fade away — asking for all of our patience and solemn acceptance of fate.
i cannot tell you which is worse.
to have someone ripped away without warning or to watch all the pieces you knew of them slip out of existence.
both take a person, a presence, a soul.
both leave a void of non-existence that used to be full of life.
both linger, bringing stinging reminders of what once was. what could have been. what will never be.
losing isn’t easy when time marks the absence of someone.
losing is a reminder to cherish the short moments we get to spend with one another.
but losing isn’t the end. mortal existence is a blink in the eyes of eternity.
loss can’t be the final answer. why else would losing someone have any meaning but for our very souls to be recognizing that we will be without someone for a while? separated only by the physical.
there is hope in the pain of losing.
there is hope in seeing those we’ve lost again.