There Are No Words.
I have heard, read, these words, “There are no words,” numerous times over the past few weeks. I understand the sentiment, have thought it at times when I had heard of someone’s loss. And yet words are what we have. To capture the ephemeral, explain the unknowable, describe the unimaginable.
Words are what we have to say ….
I love you.
I miss you.
You are my heart.
What is the vastness of love? What is the depth of missing? How to describe the well of sorrow we tumble into as we are taken by surprise by his writing on the calendar?
Though we may think there are no words, they are a gift. No matter how clumsy or awkward they may feel in the saying, they are a balm to the heart. They are the tangible expressions of caring, love, support, empathy. They are a reminder that we are not alone in our grief. They are the reaching out across the distance to hold us, heal us, bind us.
And there are no words for the gratitude, deep and soft, for the outpouring of hugs and flowers and food and visits and cards and gifts and calls and more hugs. It has been a lesson in accepting. In saying yes. In saying simply, ‘Thank You,’ though that does not begin to capture the sentiment.
There are in fact so many experiences in our lives, both beautiful and harsh, to which there truly are no words. And yet words are all we have – to express our joy, our grief, our honor, our gratitude, our terror, our surrender.
So say the words, write the words, treasure the words. They are what we have.
I love you.
I miss you.
Thank you.
beautiful.