Consolation.....

What is the name of that Pearl Jam song.....? DH is playing through Ten to find it for me..but it's not from Ten.*

There's consolation for you: in those early notes, very Hendrix yet respectful, not a slavish imitation but a tribute; and in the space that are between the notes, where you can breathe, and let the tears slip down. If you're in a happy or peaceful place, it supports you; if you need to cry, there it is, support for tears. Who cares about the lyrics, in this one? The beginning and the end are a frame; consolation, too, can create a frame for difficult emotions.

I don't want to make grand pronouncements about Art tonight, and the role it has in grief. (Though clearly those are coming, eh?) I just want to offer what consolation I can, in this ragged and difficult world, to those who are grieving. Loss never ends. Neither does joy.

Pema Chodron puts it well (I'll quote her tomorrow): things come together, and fall apart. That's the way it is. Waves go up and down. The tide comes in and out. An endless circle? No, more like a spiral....


Listen to the guitar. Listen to Vedder mumbling. Listen to the drums provide structure. Then the guitar, alone, again.

Listen to your breath.












*(The song is Yellow Ledbetter from Lost Dogs. Thanks to iTunes.)