....subtle signs that life lives on.

This morning I drove into Dorset to meet up with a dear friend for lunch

in the small market town of Dorchester. It looks deceptively peaceful from this distance but the streets are clogged with traffic and I found it almost impossible to park. Maybe because it was market day. And half term.

On the way home I stopped to walk on the beach at Charmouth. Like Budleigh Salterton it's a place where the river runs into the sea and the birds all congregate at the mouth of the estuary.

And today it's also where crowds of holidaymakers and their dogs are enjoying the  half term sunshine.

I was given a lovely little book for my birthday called Life Lessons, 125 Prayers and Meditations  by Julia Cameron. 

She is a hugely prolific author and poet and playwright. I know her best from her book The Artist's Way about the creative process. One of her techniques which I have used over the years is 'Morning Pages' - the art of free writing for ten minutes without stopping or editing ....just to get the inner critic out of the way and to get some words, any words, on the page.

I'm finding  the gentle advice and wisdom in Life Lessons hugely helpful and  moving.

This one especially today...

Little one, you have lost a beloved.

Your heart is numb, stricken with grief.

You feel empty as if your loss has scraped bare the chambers of your heart.

Listen to what I tell you now: death is a portal.

Your beloved lives on.

What you see as an ending is really a beginning.

Your loved one feels joy not sorrow; expansion and freedom as the transition to 'home' brings happiness and peace.

Celebrate your beloved's life.

Do not mourn what is past.

Go forward listening to the subtle signs that life lives on.

Your loved one loves you still.

Offer prayers of gratitude for all you shared.

Your bond continues as you open your heart.