Now He Is A Story

Community We-Space
,
1

A few of you know from the last Tapping Circle that my brother Don died a couple of days ago. It was a shock and waves of grief continue to wash over me. We loved each other very much.

I wrote a short poem that expresses a small part of what I’m feeling…it’s a feeling I also had when my father died about ten years ago…so the poem is probably about both of them…or all of us?

NOW HE IS A STORY

Once he lived…he breathed… he walked on this earth…maybe he put his foot down once (or twice?) in a place no person had ever stepped before…

And he gathered stories…stories no one else could tell…they belonged only to him…and I listened…

Once he gathered stories…

Now, he is a story I tell…

Peace everyone…

6 Likes
2

Beautifully written Glenn. It’s these stories that keeps us going in our lives too. I think often times I keep forgetting that these stories matter to us all in life, sometimes even bigger than the scale of the universe…

5 Likes
3

Thank you Jun Rong…there is a lens that I sometimes look through that allows me to see that we are each fundamentally a story…or a collection of stories. As if these stories are as fundamental to our actual physical existence as flesh and bone is…maybe that’s what flesh and bone are made of…stories? What is our genetic heritage if not a story of life on this planet?

If we didn’t ‘gather’ these stories would we have even lived? Would we even be human? Each of us is a unique collection…a library…of knowledge, experiences, beliefs and thoughts that has never existed before we were born and will never exist again after we leave this realm. That realization is profound for me.

5 Likes
4

As you mentioned during the recent tapping call…grief seemed to be our focus. Your poem is beautiful and thank you for sharing it with us. I came across another poem by Rumi a 13th century Persian poet, that seems to fit right in.

“I saw grief drinking a cup of sorrow and called out, ‘It tastes sweet, does it not?’ ‘You’ve caught me,’ grief answered, and ‘you’ve ruined my business. How can I sell sorrow, when you know it’s a blessing.’”

4 Likes
5

Thanks Norene…he’s probably my favourite poet/thinker. This just confirms something I’ve noticed many times over the years…that Rumi fellow definitely had a few things figured out…he was paying attention!

5 Likes
6

@Glenn i want to offer a sharing that seems relevant to my brother’s passing. I really liked how lyrics can tell a story/ and even sometimes, like a movie. Have been hitting replays on this song. Here are the lyrics. I find that it’s so well written. It makes the death of someone a little more comforting and warm, and that you can…carry on :slight_smile:

(Carry On - Falling in Reverse)
[Verse 1]
I’m here to say goodbye
No spell or prayer you try
Will bring me back to life
(Don’t follow me, follow me)
So look me in my eyes
Sing me lullabies
Hold me til it’s time
(Don’t follow me, follow me)

[Chorus]
Gravity
Don’t mean that much to me
Now I’m floating near the atmosphere
No shackles on my feet
And I know I may be already gone
Just promise you’ll stay strong
And carry on
Carry on

[Verse 2]
I miss the way it hurts
A blessing in a curse
For better or for worse
(Don’t follow me, follow me)
Like a child, I have learned
Everybody waits their turn
Like a phoenix, I will burn
(Don’t follow me, follow me)

[Verse 3]
Oh, this is it and I can feel my breath slowing
And my heart is beating weaker from the pain of not knowing
So kiss me on the face and wipe your tears from your eyes
'Cause this is goodbye
(Don’t follow me, follow me)

[Chorus]
Gravity
Don’t mean that much to me
Now I’m floating near the atmosphere
No shackles on my feet
And I know I may be already gone
Just promise you’ll stay strong
And carry on
Carry on

[Bridge]
Who we are is determined by the scars
Death is like a one-way ticket to a distant star
All we are is a cosmic dust that scatters free
With no sense of direction, we’re just wandering
Who we are is determined by the scars (We’re wandering)
Death is like a one-way ticket to a distant star (We’re wandering)
All we are is a cosmic dust that scatters free
With no sense of direction, we’re just wandering
(We’re just wandering)

[Chorus]
Gravity
Don’t mean that much to me
Now I’m floating near the atmosphere
No shackles on my feet
And I know I may be already gone
Just promise you’ll stay strong
And carry on

[Outro]
Gravity (We’re wandering)
Gravity (We’re wandering)
(I know I may be already gone)
We’re wandering
We’re just- we’re just- we’re just wandering
Who we are is determined by the scars (We’re wandering)
Death is like a one-way ticket to a distant star (We’re wandering)
All we are is a cosmic dust that scatters free (We’re wandering)
With no sense of direction, we’re just wandering

4 Likes
7

Thanks Jun Rong…I appreciate your caring thoughts… :slight_smile:

‘Cosmic dust’, indeed. Reminds me of Joni Mitchell’s words…“we are stardust…we are golden…and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden…” It does help in some small way to know that we are all on the same cosmic journey and my hope is that we all meet again, those we want to meet, those we care about…and we just laugh with each other at what an incomprehensible, crazy ride this planet was.

5 Likes
8

Haha yes Glenn. It seems so much more beautiful to see it that way :relaxed: Rather than seeing it where some are crying out in pain whilst burning in the hot furnace :fire:

4 Likes