Mixed Feelings

I really don’t know where this post will go. I don’t know to which point my thoughts are sorted. Or not sorted. I’m somewhere between feeling incredibly sad and kind of calm, kind of at peace. I’m not sure if it has sunk in just yet. Not sure if I was able to give what I wanted to give. Not sure if I was able to let him know what he needed to know. And yet I think I could give him peace. Not sure if he found closure or if it was just pure coincidence.

It’s interesting. Life and death. The way we deal with it, the expectations we have. The way we think we would feel like when we are confronted for the first time with the loss of someone who’s really close to us. The way we deal with the passing, the moments of support of the person who is leaving us. The moments after…

A mix of feelings. Fear, sadness, hope, dreams, memories and loss. And we wonder. We wonder what actually will be there when we close our eyes for good. What will be when the last breath is taken, when the clocks stop?

Where do we go? Does it matter where we go at all?

Of course it’s all sort of different depending on the age of the person who’s about to leave us. Or who left us. It’s all a bit dependent on our believes as well. But in the end we still wonder, right? There are so many questions.

People say that it’s good to find closure. Closure is a big word, don’t you think? Yes, you find closure when you can be with the person you love. The person who is about to leave this world. Yes, you find closure in a way if you can tell this person everything you always wanted to say. And yes, you find closure if this person can tell you things you want to hear as well. But there is still questions that remains open: Did the person found closure? Where do we go? Will we be together again at one point and how does it feel…

How does it feel?

He left peacefully… is it just something we say because it’s what we want to hear or believe? Or is it really the case? How can we be sure that someone actually left peacefully? When we look at the body that is about to turn into only a shell, a body that is only functional because the impulses are still given, how can we be sure that the soul is at peace?

Maybe we can feel it.

Maybe it’s the feeling we get when we sit there and hold the hand that is about to get cold. Maybe it’s the internal dialog we might have.

And then you wonder… that internal dialog… is it just in your mind or does it really happen. Is the feeling you think you might receive just something you come up with? The feeling you would like to have at this point? The one thing that actually calms you down because you can’t understand or deal with the loss you suffer?

So many things going on in your mind.

Memories over and over again. Not only of moments but of scents, touches, voices. Will you still be able to remember them once the person is gone? Will you remember how holding hands with this person will feel like when the person is gone? Will you remember the sound of the voice, the scent, the smile?

So many thoughts.

And then you realize that this person will never be gone for good. Parts will live on. In you, in your children in your memories. In the stories told by you, by your family. By friends. Bit by bit you will pass on the memories. To others. Stories that will be told. And some of them will put a smile on your face.

You realize that the touch of the hand will not be forgotten. Nothing really will.

Because it’s what it’s all about.

We will live on. Our stories will be told. Our smiles will be remembered. The touch of our hand will be missed but the feeling will never be forgotten. Because it’s something that is important to you.

I wondered… I wondered where he will go. I stopped wondering. Not because I know. But because I want him to go there. I want him to be the wind. The rain. The sun, the snow, the ocean, the sand, the tree. I want him to be the scent of spring, summer, fall and winter. I want him to be the yellow of a sunflower, the red of a rose, the blue of the sky. I want him to be the sparkling star, the moon. I want him to be there. And I know he will. Without me hanging on to his soul. I want it out there, up there. I want him to spread his wings and fly. Like an eagle. No pulling back.

In the end it’s never about us. It’s not about them. It’s about letting go and finding peace. It’s about love and memories. Life and death. Hanging on and letting go. Finding peace in a way that works for you.

We are all different. The way we deal with our losses are never the same. And that’s okay.