We receive the great good news of our beloved’s adoration with joy, hope, wonder, creativity and inspiration. The entwining of our souls becomes a holy temple of union. This is no great challenge; it is a celebration.

But when, unexpectedly, perhaps even for reasons unknown, or seemingly wrong — our beloved departs, we will usually experience catastrophic pain, confusion, despair, and feelings of loss.

Yet -=the opportunity is the same=-. If we only understood how deeply these circumstances refuse to conform to our common expectations and models, we might begin to meet them with the same grace and wonder with which we received the gift. And it would become, then, a celebration. And so would we.