Walking in the Garden of Souls by George Anderson & Andrew Barone

Author:George Anderson & Andrew Barone
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2002-09-30T22:00:00+00:00

HOPE LOST

Depending on your belief system, most people think that the first casualty in the passing of a loved one is their physical life. Because I hear the words from the souls who have passed into the hereafter and see them in all their glory—young, well, vibrant, able to walk, free of pain, and truly happy—I have to disagree with the belief that death means the end of life. To me, the first real casualty in the passing of a loved one is our hope—it disappears from us like water through a sieve, especially when it is most needed for us to cope. It is an unfortunate part of the work I do that I will occasionally come across someone who is so embittered by their loss that the assistance and the hope that can come through from their loved ones in the hereafter simply cannot reach them. They become blind and deaf to the reality that they must continue walking, even through their pain, if they are going to even benefit minutely from this difficult leg of the journey of their spiritual lives. Any challenge left unfaced in this lifetime is wasted, but we must make the decision to face the pain, or we subvert the rest of our lessons by turning our back to the very reason we are here—to walk, to run, to fall, to cry, to crawl, to stand up, and to walk again.

I try very hard to understand some of the people I have seen during a session who seem to have completely lost their hope. It is quite natural, and even understandable, to momentarily find yourself angry, bitter, and spiritually empty; it is an unfortunate by-product of the pain of loss. We all need time to heal and allow perspective to return. In some people, however, they allow their hopelessness to become solid and immoveable, and it will become the labor of friends, loved ones, the souls in the hereafter—and even ourselves—to chip away at that stone until the light of hope can be seen through it.

The loss of hope that follows tragedy will have to be dealt with before the more constructive process of learning to cope can ever take place. Although it may be a problem to overcome, it is at least a problem that can be seen and felt—and any problem easy to recognize will be easier to fix. What is far more destructive, however, is to come to the great wall of adversity that we all must climb after tragedy in order to continue, only to sit down in front of it and wait for it to crumble, without even trying to venture over it. Refusal to face the prospect of lost hope is a refusal to reconcile ourselves to the very circumstances we are sent here to experience and overcome.

I was in Houston, Texas, a few years ago, where I met a lovely Korean family who had come for a session. They were three generations of women—a grandmother, mother, and two daughters.

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