Two very good friends of mine shared their experiences with me today…
One friend told me of the death of another.
My second friend related the excitement of a journey she had been on recently.
Words always seem to fail at moments such as these when the experience is not one you are sharing.
Death has visited folks I have known and loved.
I´ve known parents who have lost their children, children who have lost their parents, those who have lost their partners and pals, and every time this has happened I am at a loss for words.
There truly is nothing one can say that will ever replace a person´s loss in a time of bereavement.
All I have been able to do is offer myself at the convenience of the bereaved and hope that my willing arms might lend some strength to help them cope a tiny bit better with the horrible situation.
The emotions felt by one person for another are never quite the same as another´s emotions and harder still if the deceased is not known to whom the bereaved is seeking comfort from.
I try and find out something about the deceased and hope that a detail surfaces that can lend me a comment that consoles.
Hearing another person´s travel account is a far more positive experience, but here as well sharing is difficult as each person´s journey is different from another´s.
Slides and souvenirs, pictures and postcards, never quite capture the subtle memories of the cherished moment.
Showing them to others is at best exposing someone to an optical illusion and hoping they too see what the illusion has intended.
In this situation, I question the traveller politely with interest for details that might aid me to somehow relate to the travel experience.
To my friends please know that I truly and deeply care about what has affected you.
Please know that I will do my best to listen and try to understand.
You are not alone.