The Mist of Moisture

Luna Moth in Tokyo, Japan

"Think of grief as the mist of moisture on the face of a flower."  Connie Nelson Ahlberg


In a simple span of a few hours, I have had two lessons in loss. I learned about an exquisite moth in Tokyo who emerged to eyes of wonder near a family's dwelling. Within this same delicate time span, a grandmother died.

The moth's wings are wide, nearly white with a hint of green, and delicate with a fragility which makes you want to protect it in plastic. But it was real; it was wonderful and open to the features within life that could also destroy such beauty in a godly heartbeat.

One moment the moth could be seen and admired with a wingspan that can measure four inches in width. The next moment only parts of it could be found. How cruel it seems for a life cycle to end as quickly as one has kissed the sun. Perhaps one of it's natural predators sought out this beautiful moth.

And within this same delicate time span, a grandmother died. I was stunned to learn of this passing. I wept. I didn't know the moth having seen it through photos continents away. But now I'm seeking to know it. I am seeking to appreciate it as I am learning about such a vision.

I did know the Grandmother. I knew her name. I saw and talked to her in recent years. I read poetry to her. I knew little things about her which made her endearing. God knows she was enduring. I had a sense of her spirit as I've been in her presence. I enjoyed my times with her. I knew she was loved and watched over by her family. In a most recent photo, her granddaughter and new husband leaned over her in rapt joy as she held the bride's bouquet as she sat in her wheelchair. I love this photo.

Now her wings are wide, white, and delicate. And she lives on in many hearts in their memory forever; but also she exists in a new home, loved and watched over by an Eternal God

Actias luna showing wing span

              

Grandma Alice Paul with her granddaughter,
 Elizabeth Doerr, and her husband, Brad Doerr

Connie Nelson Ahlberg

All Rights Reserved.

All Passes Away

Thich Nhat Hanh in Viet Nam

Renunciation is not getting rid of the things of this world,

but accepting that they pass away.  Aitken Roshi

Prayer of Letting Go

If life is a lesson

In letting go;

May my life then, Lord,

As water,

Through my fingers flow.

Connie Nelson Ahlberg

The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.
Atisha