Death Wisdom is an exploration of my journey in living through the death of my mother and the Year of Grief that followed. These stories are mine, of course, but they’re Universal, too. Death and Grief offer us a whole new way to look at the world. This series of fiber art pieces is about finding some of those discoveries I could only find amid the radical changes that resulted from Death’s presence in my life.
I was coloring and sketching and I heard her saying she would miss coloring. There was a bittersweetness about it. I knew I would never hear her voice in this world again. She’d already moved on. Even now, writing these few words about it, I’m starting to cry all over again. There was something about my relationship with her that defies explanation. She was my mother, yes, but she was also my equal, my friend, and sometimes my playmate or fellow adventurer. I’ll never laugh like that again, not with someone else, not like she and I laughed together.
Still, I can hear her voice when I call to her. It’s a whisper on the wind. Faint, clear, and so very Eileen.
The Cards are laid on the table for each of us. Some good, some challenging.
With a bit of skill, you can use those cards to build a life.
With a bit more skill, you can trade them in for others and improve on that life.
With even more skill, you can chuck the lot and draw yourself a Real Adventure.
It’s in the Luck of the Draw for all of us.
I walk a Medicine Path. It is good Medicine.
He walks a Medicine Path. It is good Medicine.
I wanted him to follow, to be like me…And that’s given me Medicine, too.
It takes a strong heart to watch someone you love walk this path.
He is on a Medicine Path. My heart is strong as the hills, the sky, the waters, and it burns with love for every step taken.
Be careful what you ask for. You may well get it.
And happiness, love, contentment, and joy don’t always come from what we think we want. Often, they’re hidden in the stuff we thought we didn’t want.
Crow has shown me again and again, it’s best to be yourself and let Love guide you. That’s where the real Joy lands.
When it hurts, Breathe Love.
When there’s Joy, Breathe Love.
Enter this World, Breath Love.
Leave this World, Breathe Love.
Let Every Breath Be Love.
Lightning Struck.
It Looked like a statement
But, was it?
She asked a Question.
We each answered.
That is what shaped this life
What comes after Death
Shakes the leaves from your Tree?
Can you still stand
When your love Departs?
What remains will you Find
Among the fields of Grief
You cannot but tread?
