Lessons in Loss.
Is this article worthy? The right thing to post? Breaking the lines? Who knows.
Maybe it’s too personal for the professional game of LinkedIn. But I like to think we’re all human before the professional announcements we're delighted to make.
What I do know is I best process thoughts in words, writing. Pulling the thoughts from my brain, laying them out and trying to figure which ones to keep hold of.
Christmas 2022 looked and felt a bit different. My family and I lost a main character. Time seemed to warp. And nothing mattered, yet everything mattered.
That’s in the wrong tense. Time is warped. And nothing matters. Yet everything matters.
I don’t like that it takes a major life events to force us to slow down. Stop even. To render us to factory settings and think beyond the to do lists and ‘stuff’.
In the days after our loss I’ve been told stories about him. From the bank clerks, to opticians to neighbours. All of them knew him by name, smiled thinking of him, and could offer their own memories of a man who has been a constant for so many of us for so long.
How is it that we use the word legacy to define people who defy the odds. Who ‘change the world’. Who do something outrageous.
Why is a legacy not a series of moments which are left with us? Why is it not the felt impact of good people doing every day things with a lot of heart?
领英推荐
Why do these people have their stories of an 86 year old man? One of many who they see in a week, month, year?
Stories of kindness. Politeness. Stories of compassion, of love.
Stories of a man who without ask danced through life leaving everyone he met feeling better, brighter. Hopeful.
A gentleman. Old school. Raised in a different generation, but never let the world change the basics of being human. A man who's factory settings didn't waver.
How much longer are we going to live to celebrate the material, when it is the human who leaves footprints which we guard as memories.
My Grandad will forever be a main character, perhaps not in person anymore. But in my everyday actions, of kindness, humanness, empathy, courage, curiosity.
What a wonderful legacy to leave so many people with thoughts and silent smiles. To have added value in just being. I like to think this lives in us all. How grateful am I to have known a man who modelled it everyday.
Heroes don’t need to wear capes, they usually have open arms and open hearts.?And that is always enough.
During this time I have found Cariad Lloyd's podcast called Griefcast to be a helpful listen: https://open.spotify.com/show/4YXBHlLzuoESo0FKF5ufLy?si=dd279fd9b76f4601
Governance Strategic Lead Sport England I FA National Game Board Member I Mental Health First Aider
2 年So beautifully written, Sarah and abundantly clear how important your grandad was to you and others. Thank you so much for sharing, I’m sure your words will resonate with many. Be lovely to catch up sometime, take good care x
National Partnerships Manager at Coach Core Foundation
2 年Thanks for sharing this Sarah, a beautiful article and one which highlights the huge impact your Grandad had on you. I have also experienced loss recently and, like you, find solace in expressing my emotions through writing, specifically poetry. I can't claim to know how you are feeling as loss manifests in different ways for us all. However, I can offer a listening ear if ever you need one ?? Take care x