The Wake of Grief

Greetings All,


I just finished A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett and I think I have a new favorite book! Once again he has tossed out a little piece of life wisdom that we all need to hear when it comes to grief. Ix-Nay is sharing his shaman wisdom with Tully as they are overlooking the ocean from the point above the fresh grave of their friend Cleopatra Highbourne.

"'Old friend,' Ix-Nay said, 'grief is like the wake behind a boat. It starts out as a huge wave that follows close behind you and is big enough to swamp and drown you if you suddenly stop moving forward. But if you do keep moving, the big wake will eventually dissipate. And after a long enough time, the waters of your life get calm again, and that is when the memories of those who have left begin to shine as bright and as enduring as the stars above.'" from A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett, pg. 431

Grief is a funny thing. At times it comes to us when a loved one or good friend dies, at other times it comes with changes in life like a divorce or the loss of a job, and at still others it comes with moving to a new place and a new station of life. At its most basic, it comes with change. The change of no longer waking up with that person you have loved for so long; the change of only having your kids half of the time, the change of a new city, new job or new life. With that change we have a choice, to sit still and let that change overwhelm us like the grief wake that Ix-Nay describes or to put one foot in front of the other and move forward into the change. With that forward movement comes the gradual lessening of the grief, the dissipation of the fear of change, and the smooth waters of the boat of life as it comes up on plane in the water. Thank you Jimmy Buffett for the wisdom hidden in your songs and books.

Always putting one foot in front of the other, your brother in Christ,
Faron