no one can explain why someone is taken from us. one moment a person loves, laughs, cries, feels and the next they don’t.

i don’t have the words to make your pain slip away. i don’t have the answers you are yearning for. but one thing i do have is a promise. a promise that you will get through this and you will be okay.

as you mourn your loss remember everything; remember the good times, the bad times, the hard times, and most importantly… remember every time. their life was precious. each fleeting moment had meaning. the memories you created together are beautiful.

the pain you are enduring today will have meaning tomorrow.

the moment they died changed your life forever, but in the words of Ovid, “omnia mutantur, nihil interit (everything changes, nothing perishes).” 

do not harp on what could have been, or the words that should have been shared. everything that was meant to happen happened.

take solace in knowing they made a difference in your life and you made a difference in theirs. remember them with happiness in your eyes. the impact you had in their life lives on through you. you were in their life for a reason.

my friend shared these beautiful words with me during his storm, “perfer et ibdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim (be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you.)” –Ovid

as you begin your journey forward, reflect on the influence they had on your life. reflect on who you will become for them. this person wants the best for you, and you deserve to fight for the best.

it will take time, but work everyday to find the silver lining.

the silver lining is the illuminating outline around a cloud. after a storm the sun stands behind the cloud fighting to find its way out. with time, the sun overcomes the darkness and eventually, the cloud disappears.

find your sun and create the silver lining.