“Life and death are not separate. They are two aspects of the same life. To live deeply is to face death honestly.”- Daisaku Ikeda, The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace
The grief is not a problem to fix. It is the love still doing what love does, after the person it was for has gone elsewhere.
“Those we have loved do not disappear. They live on in our hearts, in our actions, in the courage we draw from their memory.”- Daisaku Ikeda, For Today and Tomorrow
Your job is not to forget them. Your job is to keep carrying them - in how you eat dinner, what you laugh at, who you become.
“Hope is not a matter of ability; it is a matter of decision.”- Daisaku Ikeda, Discussions on Youth
Some days, hope means deciding to take a shower. Some days it means making one phone call. Grief gets to keep its size; you get to keep moving.
“Winter always turns to spring. Never, from ancient times on, has anyone heard or seen of winter that did not turn to spring.”- Daisaku Ikeda, The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
The grief does not leave. It changes shape - from a wall you cannot get past to a room you can sometimes walk through.
“Gratitude is the seed of happiness. The ability to feel grateful, even amid hardship, is the mark of a strong heart.”- Daisaku Ikeda, For Today and Tomorrow
The fact that it hurts this much is the receipt that the love was real. Most people in this world will not be missed at this volume.
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