For the many fans of A Prairie Home Companion, the live radio show hosted by Garrison Keillor, it was a week of saying good-bye. Keillor, the forever inventive host decided to “hang it up,” leaving many fans mourning the loss of a friend who has been around for decades.
It was a week of goodbye for me, too.
My standard poodle Holly quietly slipped away to romp in “the fields of the Lord” after fifteen years of being my boon companion. Losing her left a hole in my heart. As my husband and I drove home from a party Saturday night, I found myself thinking, I’m glad we are home early to let Holly out, only to realize there was no Holly to let out. The house will seem empty now. Lucky for me, I’m working on the West Coast this week and I won’t notice her absence until Saturday when she won’t be there to greet me.
Loss is part of all our lives. Loss slows us down, it invites us to pause and reflect in a way that joy doesn’t. With joy, it’s easy to be swept up with energy and momentum for what’s next. And all that positive emotion, plus the endorphins that flood our system, leave little space for reflection.
Loss is there to help us appreciate that life is always changing. It is concrete evidence of the truth that this too shall pass. And in feeling the loss we can also feel gratitude for having had or experienced the precious thing we no longer have.
So this week, consider things you have lost. Pause, give thanks, and know that this too shall pass and that something joyful is right around the corner.
Until next Tuesday.
Elizabeth