Write a letter to your body, expressing gratitude to each specific part for housing your spirit and for allowing you to have an earthly experience during this time, for as long as it is able to do so.
Now write a letter to the body of a loved one, conveying appreciation for affording you the opportunity to experience the person, specifying all of the qualities and gifts you received as a result of the body’s work and presence. Send gratitude, acknowledging that the body’s work for that person is now complete and deserves rest.
Image Description: Behind the text is a blurred video that slowly moves along a shoreline of blue water with the sky reflected in it. The shore is covered in orange and green brush. Mountains outline the landscape in the background.
It occurred to me that my heart has been beating steadily every day, for years, without ceasing, and that my father’s heart had done so as well for more than eight decades, until its job on this earthly plane was complete and its time for rest had arrived. The generous spirit it supported during that time had now rightfully returned to its Source. This comforted me and continues to comfort me.
Kimberly Lee left the practice of law some years ago to focus on motherhood, community work, and creative pursuits. Her work has appeared in Literary Mama, Fresh Ink, Thread,Toyon, and elsewhere. She currently lives in Southern California with her husband and three children
Try this writing practice and notice how you feel. Submit a writing practice which comes out of your own experience of grieving loss that other people can try.