Nice piece on grief. While they are related, loneliness and grief are not interchangeable words, realities, or processes. Peace, Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter, author of “The Gospel of Loneliness” (Pilgrim Press, UCC)
Excellent commentary. My only reservation is that our culture is so afraid of loss/emptiness that there is a strong bias toward rushing into action or trying to make the bad feeling go away that, even with your warnings, people may push to get through the emptiness. I like your helping to provide “containment” through seeking connection with others and with Spirit. I find the 23rd Psalm very helpful—we are not alone in the Valley of Death. It is in the emptiness that the New Creation can emerge, and we don’t know what that looks like. After the emptiness of the time between the Crucifixion and Resurrection, Jesus did not appear to his loved ones looking like he had looked. It is not only his form that is different; it is our “eyes,” our way of seeing that is different, tenderized. Compassion is not something we need to practice; it becomes much more who we ARE. We ache more with the pain of others, and that changes how we ACT.
Nice piece on grief. While they are related, loneliness and grief are not interchangeable words, realities, or processes. Peace, Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter, author of “The Gospel of Loneliness” (Pilgrim Press, UCC)
Excellent commentary. My only reservation is that our culture is so afraid of loss/emptiness that there is a strong bias toward rushing into action or trying to make the bad feeling go away that, even with your warnings, people may push to get through the emptiness. I like your helping to provide “containment” through seeking connection with others and with Spirit. I find the 23rd Psalm very helpful—we are not alone in the Valley of Death. It is in the emptiness that the New Creation can emerge, and we don’t know what that looks like. After the emptiness of the time between the Crucifixion and Resurrection, Jesus did not appear to his loved ones looking like he had looked. It is not only his form that is different; it is our “eyes,” our way of seeing that is different, tenderized. Compassion is not something we need to practice; it becomes much more who we ARE. We ache more with the pain of others, and that changes how we ACT.