"Wild Geese", a Poem by Mary Oliver

In her poem "When Death Comes" Mary Oliver says:

When it's over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was a bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

A friend of mine, one of the most giving people I know, suffered yet another tragedy in her life a few days ago. She awoke to find her husband of 27 years lying dead on their bedroom floor. The hardships this woman has suffered in the last year are numerous.  She deserves so much more.

The poem in the video is also by Mary Oliver, "Wild Geese". It acknowledges that we all have hardship. We all feel lonely at times. And when we do we don't have to be anything. Just be. Feel what you feel and share what you feel but also don't forget the world goes on and has much to offer.

I used to get angry when someone would say "Well, life goes on" and shrug off whatever was upsetting me. But you know what? It does. The world keeps turning.  The sun rises and falls. My children still count on me and need me. The bills still have to be paid and the cat still has to be fed. The world doesn't stop because of some turmoil in my life. And really, how big is that turmoil anyway?

Why do we read? Why are some of us obsessed with reading? What is the reading experience about? I will explore these questions in coming weeks.  I would love to hear any thoughts you have on the subject.

There are many things can be accomplished in a unique manner through reading.   Among those things is the ability of reading to help us work through grief.

In her article, "Reading Through", on huffingtonpost.com following the Sandy Hook tragedy Bethanne Patrick recommends reading for precisely this purpose. Reading has a unique ability to allow “us to enter into to the consciousness of other people”, she says. 

We more fully understand the reality of all sides of such senseless acts through reading books that get us inside the minds of other parents that have lost children to similar tragedies or books that get us inside the minds of survivors of such events, the families of people who commit such crimes, or families of the victims. 

Reading can be very healing for many reasons.  One of those is the understanding and insights we gain.  I believe though, that the core reason that reading is healing is that it allows us to share a very human experience.  We share our pain and no longer feel alone.  Moments spent in the minds and hearts of those closer to the tragedy are moments of shared grief and we find comfort there.