My paternal grandmother, Celia Elizabeth Welsh, passed away a couple of weeks ago. She was a lively woman, who raised three kids single-handedly while working multiple jobs. She smoked and loved dancing, knitting and animals. Dementia had been stealing her quality of life from her for several years, and this month she finally succumbed to infection. This blessing is inspired by and dedicated to her. I love this photo of her at 21 years old.
The one you love has passed out of your sight.
They have embarked upon a mighty journey,
And now you, loved one, have entered into the wide halls of longing
You will miss them for long days.
Oh, my love.
I wish you fair and open passage on the road of healing.
May you find courage to endure the dark nights of loss,
And renewed strength in the sun’s determined rising.
You may feel that in losing the face of the beloved, you can’t recognise your own without their eyes to find you.
May you take a deep, belly breath, and trust the breathing, living animal which holds your spirit. It has ancient intelligence to carry you.
Now, absence is what you feel. That is the natural way of things.
In time, may you find the one you love in many places, in many wondrous and magical ways.
In moments of achievement; in snatches of an old song; in your morning tea; in the passing of a wisp of cloud over the sun.
May your longing enrich the dough of your joy, and your happy memories weave shining sequins through the cloth of your sadness.
To the beloved: may you find your way to fragrant lands.
God grant you her peace, and us her comfort.
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