13 Comments

Some lovely wisdom in this post. About 10 years ago I moved my parents out of their house and had to give so much away. It was painful but instructive in terms of what we really “own” during our trip on this earth and reckoning with impermanence.

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Thank you so much Lane. And yes, that is so true. I am witnessing my mother start to voluntarily let go of things and give things to me and my sister and granddaughters, while she is still healthy at 84. I'm so lucky. The really interesting thing to me is that the things I've lost that were meaningful aren't really lost at all, I just can't see them. They are alive in my memory and heart, because of their intangibility, in a way I wonder if they would be if they were still physically in my life. Do you feel that way at all?

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"the beautiful mystery of being human lies partly in how resilient our hearts are, how able they are to carry the things, the people, the pets, the homes, even though we cannot touch them anymore". Shhh, don't tell the others I subscribe to, but your Substack is becoming one of my favs. I loved this so much Jocelyn, your thought process, the journey you take us on. Thank you so much for this.

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Oh wow, Steve. That makes me a little teary, in the best way possible. I so appreciate your kind words and support. Thank you right back.

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I really do. They are 20 and 26 and it's amazing to watch them. I learn from them everyday :)

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That makes my heart so happy! I learn from my nieces too, all the time. They are such strong, confident, outspoken young women. I feel honored to know them .

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This was such a beautiful read. Thank you. "That we become one of the people we take care of" will stay with me. I've tried to teach my daughters that this should always be the case, that we should always be one of the people we take care of, after being taught myself that the opposite was true.

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Thank you, Shelagh. That means so much to me. You daughters are lucky to have such hard-earned wisdom taught to them their whole lives. So many women like you and I were taught that self sacrifice was love. When the exact opposite is true. I'm curious you see your daughters treating themselves with care? Treating themselves differently than the generation before?❤️

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So true.

And I'm a little amazed that the flight of that scratched Eagle's CD wasn't mentioned.... ;)

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It was in there in one version, but got tossed out the window. See what I did there?

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Sometimes a good defenestration is the best solution.

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What's gone is never lost. It remains embedded, sometimes forgotten, sometimes retrieved, making us who we are,

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Ooooh, yes Brian. That's it. Embedded. I love that. Do you have something you've lost that stands out in your mind?

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