Who I am.

I write about the landscape of grief, nature, and the wisdom of fools. The author of four books, my essays, poems, and reviews have been published in over 50 journals, including in the Huffington Post and Colorado Review. I’ve won the River Teeth Nonfiction Book Award, the Chautauqua and Literal Latte’s essay prizes, and my work has been nominated for four Pushcart Prizes and named a notable by Best American Essays. My account of hiking in Yosemite to deal with my wife’s death, Mountains of Light, was published by the University of Nebraska Press. http://www.markliebenow.com.

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

When the Spirit Opens





“I don’t know when the spirit opens itself to the river.” Kathleen Dean Moore

            I wondered about this movement of the spirit when I sat by Evelyn’s bed in the ICU years ago. Was she still present, or had she departed and now existed somewhere else? Neurological tests done yesterday indicated no activity in her brain. The doctors said the machines were keeping her body alive until they could repeat the tests 24 hours later. 


            If her spirit was gone, when did this happen? Did she leave when the paramedics were shocking her heart to reboot its rhythm, or when the oxygen levels in her brain bottomed out? I felt that Ev had waited for me to arrive so that she could say goodbye before her spirit left, but this may be wishful thinking. 

            It probably doesn’t matter when her spirit left her body. Yet the when may help me interpret the signs I was perceiving. Perhaps I noticed some sign of her saying goodbye, a final gesture of love to provide strength for what I would have to face next. 

            At the point of death, some religions believe, if they believe in the continuation of individual souls, that the spirit/soul separates from the body but hangs around for 3-49 days, depending on the religion, as the future is worked out. Then it departs. Even if Ev was no longer united with her body, her spirit could have been near, watching me sit by the hospital bed talking to her, hoping that the sound of my voice would either guide her out of the fog and back to me, or guide her on to her new destination.

            And yet, if she had enough consciousness remaining, and had a vote about whether to stay or go, she may have decided that she didn’t want to deal with another health problem, said enough was enough, and simply let the reins on her body go slack.

            I would not begrudge her decision, if she made this one. It was her choice. Some say that we are in this world to learn all we can, and when we do, then it’s time to move on to the next. If compassion for all beings is the greatest lesson we learn on earth, then Evelyn was ready.

            When this battle was lost, whenever it was lost, her spirit opened itself to what came next. Maybe she noticed the light, or saw her father in the distance waiting for her. Maybe the discovery she made two months before in the desert of Arizona, of finding her spiritual home, prepared her to open to something more, something unknown, and when she saw it approaching, she simply said, “Yes.”

12 comments:

  1. Perfect! I loved every line of this post, Mark. I remember wondering when death actually happened myself, watching my father, watching my daughter, waiting with my hand on pulse, searching their eyes that seemed to look beyond me. And I remember sensing a closeness for a time after my daughter's death, like she was still with me somehow, until I started talking to her life-sized portrait on the wall and noticed she'd "left" at some point. Thanks for sharing the photo of you and Evelyn as young 'uns. So sweet. Cheers!

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  2. Thank you, Robin. And thank you for sharing your experiences. It is a big question, isn't it?

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  3. I loved reading this. I have watched and wondered and felt so many of these same thought. Death is so hard to interpret.

    Robin Lee

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    1. It continues to be a mystery to me, too, Robin. Thank you.

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  4. I don't know traditions of soul after death in other religions. I never got to hold my 29 yr old son's hand as he departed, but 'that' morning when my thoughts turned to where he might be, I felt a tremendous feeling of peace and knew he was ok. But no more than a half hour later I was besieged with absolute terror. I felt it enough to make me put down my pen and stop everything. As I did, suddenly the terror was gone and tremendous elation took its place. It was like being suspended. I felt light, love and all of him. And then, as suddenly, he began to dissipate, pieces faded and disappeared -slowly at first and then all-at-once - until I was there alone. I searched for him with all my heart but could not find him. Two hours later, I found out he died about that time. He left no note, but I believe he decided his course of action with resolve and determination. He drove 45 minutes and crashed into the uprights of a bridge where he died, they said, immediately. I know I was there with him. I know he was able to take me there but I don't know if he knew. Wherever he made it to, he cannot reach me now. Because if he could, he would. This was about 5 years ago and his memories remain, my longing to touch, see and talk to him linger, but I don't feel him. And I know he is gone.

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    1. Oh Marilyn, such a thing to have to experience, both wonderful and terrifying! My heart goes out to you. Even though you feel him now gone, hopefully that amazing connection during his last moments brings you comfort.

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  5. Thank you for this, and for the quote at beginning. A river is a good metaphor for these events, I can remember back and apply it and it brings comfort.

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    1. You're welcome. The river, death, life and grief all seem to flow together. Tactile.

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  6. Thank you for this posting and this blog which I just discovered. I lost my young (51) husband to cancer four weeks ago tomorrow. I was walking today at lunch and thinking about the spiritual realm and wondering where he is really, begging for a sign that he is still with me. My husband died in a beautiful hospice facility. He was suffering from liver failure and had very little lucidity in his last few days. I was with him when he died and it was the most peaceful, quiet departure. Maybe 10 minutes earlier he woke me up with uncharacteristic labored, heavy breathing, I think to get my attention. I lit a candle, put on some music, and laid next to him, holding his hands and chest and telling him it was okay to go. I wanted to feel his spirit go somewhere to feel it in the air around me. I didn't, but I also felt very at peace and so grateful his transition was easy. After I laid with him for a good while, I knew it was time to go, and drove home with the brightest crescent moon I'd ever seen hanging in the sky in clear view my whole drive. The moon had played a significant role for us in the last few months. He wore a bracelet I made him that said water & moon to remind him of a Rumi poem that expressed my pain at seeing him suffer and wanting to connect. It is even more significant today. Thank you for the opportunity to share...

    There is a path from me to you
    that I am constantly looking for

    so I try to keep clear and still
    as water does with the moon.

    ~ Rumi

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    1. A beautiful sharing! Your husband died way too young, and you know that, but the way you said goodbye to each other is precious. Most of my losses haven't gone that way. And I love the Rumi quote. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences.

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  7. Thank you all for your sharing. I was looking for some stories that would help me with my grief. I lost my husband suddenly to a brain aneurysm about A year and a half ago. Two of his grown children were with him which was a blessing I think for him, but they have a terrible image of their father dying to bare. By the time I got to him his brain bleed was so bad they were only trying to safe his organs for donation. It took three days for him to pass and I wonder if any minute of that time if he knew I was there. I laid in his arms and held him till he took his last breath and his heart stopped beating . I sang all the silly songs we used to sing to each other and repeated out wedding song over and over again. I don't know when he left, but when the kids and I were at his bed side saying goodbye at day two when they removed life support, his hand flinched and his body moved. We took it as a sign he was ready, but I don't know. Then when he didn't pass until another day later I didn't get any other signs. I have only felt him wrap his arms around me in my dream once and it was so beautiful and comforting and I ask him to comeback. I'm trying so hard to live without him and I hate every minute. Thank you for giving me this forum to tell my story

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    1. I don't suppose we will ever know how much our loved ones were aware of us in the last days and moments. I think he knew you were there. As you sensed his spirit, he sensed your's. That's a beautiful dream. Thank you for sharing this.

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