Showing posts with label loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label loss. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

The One You Feed: The Terrible Knowledge

 

Hi Hsi,

This newsletter is a bit different today. The last few months have been filled with a lot of loss in the One You Feed universe.

A good friend of mine lost his son shockingly and unexpectedly in a ski accident. Then my mom's health declined precipitously, and she died two weeks ago. This weekend, my best friend Chris, co-founder and editor of the podcast, had his dog Penny die suddenly.

All of it makes me think of a scene from The Crown. The Queen and the Queen Mother are watching Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis on TV after the assassination, and the Queen Mother says:

“Didn’t you say how unhappy she was in the marriage?”

Elizabeth replies:

“Yes. But that’s the thing about unhappiness. All it takes is for something worse to come along, and you realize it was actually happiness after all.”

Sometimes people will say to me, “Well, it can’t get any worse.” I will semi-jokingly say, “Do not tempt fate. It can always get worse.”

Mark Nepo calls this “the terrible knowledge,” the awareness that we can be erased in a second. And so can anything we love. (If you’re interested in Mark’s work, see below for a special event this evening celebrating the launch of his new book, The Language of the Soul.)*

So what do we do with all this? (In addition to grieving our losses.)

Should we live on guard, bracing ourselves for the inevitable hardships to come? I don’t think that works. It sucks the joy out of life as it is and does not take away the sting of loss.

The Stoics and the Buddhists recommend contemplating the reality of death regularly as a way to prepare and to appreciate the preciousness of life. This is a valuable practice, but sometimes hard to do.

I want to leave us with something that faces toward life, not away from it.

Frank Turner (previous podcast guest, the person whose sharing of my book brought me the most joy, and, according to Spotify, my most-streamed artist of all time) says this at the end of his song Polaroid Picture:

"Let go of the little distractions
Hold close to the ones that you love
'Cause we won’t all be here this time next year
So while you can, take a picture of us”

The thing that I find most valuable there is that there are two clear actions.

The first is to let go of the little distractions. What things are we worrying about, fretting about, or thinking about that matter little in the grand scheme of our lives?

And the second is to hold close to the people we love. Paying a little bit more attention to them, reaching out a little bit more often, making a bit more effort. Pausing to appreciate that they are in our lives.

None of that erases the losses or even prepares us for the next loss, but they do offer a way of living more meaningfully in the happiness that is present.


Try this:

Spend five minutes today setting down whatever “little distractions” have your attention, and instead spend those five minutes connecting with someone you love.

Reflect on this:

What is the current thing in your life that you are unhappy about that you would miss desperately if it were gone?

Until next time,

Eric

*Tonight in New York City: Mark Nepo is celebrating the launch of The Language of the Soul with a live conversation hosted by The New Center for Holistic Learning. You can learn more here: The Language of the Soul Event

Sunday, June 23, 2024

Hugh Byrne - June 23, 2024 - 4 Heavenly Messengers

The practice of 'Triage' in our inner lives. What is most important now in a world full of challenges - a personal world and a world common to all of us.

Being present for 'this'...meet it wholeheartedly...what can be dealt with now, in this moment...the power of now: Eckhardt Tolle.

Some things have to be dealt with later...when the time is right. 

What is this moment calling for? The messenger is here. Reminders of our impermanence. What is a compassionate response to this person, to this situation...this instead of 'judgement', instead of aversion. 

Here we remember the criticality of attending to our spiritual life, the primacy of our spiritual life, our inner life... being present with our life, in an 'inner' way: cultivate kindness, compassion... thereby we create the conditions that are appropriate to the outer life.  this is the message of the 4th Heavenly Messenger.  from this quality of being present now...opening wholeheartedly to this moment. Cultivate acceptance.

How are these Heavenly Messengers showing up in my life? Sickness in my life, in my partner's life, my family's life. 

Antonio Machado: "Walker"

Sunday, February 12, 2023

In Blackwater Woods.. by Mary Oliver

“In Blackwater Woods” by Mary Oliver

Look, the trees

are turning
their own bodies
into pillars

of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,

the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders

of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is

nameless now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned

in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side

is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world

you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it

against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.

“In Blackwater Woods” by Mary Oliver, from American Primitive. © Back Bay Books, 1983.

Thursday, June 17, 2021

Loss and love ~ love and loss


The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost. ~ G.K. Chesterton

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Loss

Not a one and done...always and continually?  Think about the paragraph starting with 'Get Support.'

Coping with loss

Ideally, a bereaved person will be able to work through the process of grieving. With time and support, they’ll accept and make sense of the loss, work through the pain, and adjust to a life without their loved one physically being present.
If you or someone you know has lost a loved one, the following tips may help you cope with the loss:
  • Let yourself feel the pain and all the other emotions, too. Don’t tell yourself how to feel or let others tell you how you should feel.
  • Be patient with the process. Don’t pressure yourself with expectations. Accept that you need to experience your pain, your emotions, and your own way of healing − all in your own time. Don’t judge your emotions or compare yourself to others. Remember that no one else can tell you how you should mourn or when to stop.
  • Acknowledge your feelings, even the ones you don’t like. Let yourself cry. You need to do both for healing.
  • Get support. Talk about your loss, your memories, and your experience of the life and death of your loved one. Don’t think you are protecting your family and friends by not expressing your sadness. Ask others for what you need. Find and talk to others who have lost a loved one.
  • Try to maintain your normal lifestyle. Don’t make any major life changes (for example, moving, changing jobs, changing important relationships) during the first year of bereavement. This will let you keep your roots and some sense of security.
  • Take care of yourself. Eat well and exercise. Physical activity is a good way to release tension. Allow yourself physical pleasures that help you renew yourself, like hot baths, naps, and favorite foods.
  • Avoid drinking too much alcohol or using other drugs. This can harm your body as well as dull your emotions. It’s also likely to slow your recovery and may cause new problems.
  • Forgive yourself for all the things you did or didn’t say or do. Compassion and forgiveness for yourself and others is important in healing.
  • Give yourself a break from grief. You must work through it, but you don’t need to focus on grief all the time. Find distractions like going to a movie, dinner, or a ball game; reading a good book; listening to music; or getting a massage or manicure.
  • Prepare for holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries knowing that strong feelings may come back. Decide if you want to keep certain traditions or create new ones. Plan in advance how you want to spend your time and with whom. Do something to honor the memory of your loved one.
  • Join a bereavement support group. Other people can encourage, guide, and comfort you. They can also offer practical advice and information, and help you feel less alone. If you can’t find a group near you, online groups may be helpful.
  • When you feel ready, do something creative. Some options include:
    • Write a letter to the person who died to say everything you wish you could say to them.
    • Start keeping a journal.
    • Make a scrapbook.
    • Paint pictures.
    • Plant flowers or trees.
    • Involve yourself in a cause or activity that the deceased loved.
Your wounds are craving
your healing.
Lean into yourself and
be the deep listener
you’ve always needed.

(Vienna Pharaon)

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

On loss and grief

Likely we must process our grief,  our losses and disappointments throughout our life.  Those memories,  those feelings are part of us.  To notice them when they arise,  ...to notice how they manifest in our decisions and in our actions,  iin our fears is possible, and thereby we can choose happy and healthy directions moment by moment.

Recovery is ongoing.

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Bernie Glassman






Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Yeats: Down by the Salley Gardens

Down By The Salley Gardens

DOWN by the salley gardens my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white
feet.

She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish, with her would not
agree.

In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white
hand.

She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.