Geography of Death

When I notice a bouquet of flowers along the road, I feel a moment of sadness because I know that someone died here. Someone’s spirit left their body here, and the people who knew and loved them are grieving their loss. If I’m not late to be somewhere, I try to figure out the cause of the accident — sharp curve, bad weather conditions, hit by a drunk driver — and then I check to see if any of these apply to me because I don’t want to die here.

Sacred Space of Grief

Grief initiates us into sacred space. Elaine Mansfield started me thinking about this, and Christina Rasmussen, in one of her posts, wrote that “grief is God,” and described how this was so. The following are my thoughts so far. I’d love to hear your insights.

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When grief comes, it taps us on the shoulder and initiates us into a club that we never wanted to join.

Sacred Space

Grief takes us into sacred space

where we perceive

what was unseen.

Mark Liebenow

After Death Has Closed

After death has closed the door on someone’s life, we stand still, unsure what to do, which way to move, what to think, and we wonder what is appropriate for us to feel. A river of conflicting emotions flow through us – grief, anger, sorrow, sadness, joy, relief.

A life is over. We breathe in slowly, and exhale. 

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