Love after Death

A personal account of experiencing the loss of love in the earthly realm and finding answers in the beyond.

Love. It is not a topic the younger me would have chosen to write about. Poets, writers, sages, and lovers have said enough on the subject. What more could I, or anyone, have to say? Or understand this wonderful, yet often vexing emotion.

Here’s a feeble attempt.

In my decades here on Earth, I have learned that love transcends time. And space. Not my words, actually; this is a quote I borrowed from Interstellar, the movie:

“Love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust that, even if we can’t understand it.”

Yes, we can’t understand it. And we shouldn’t. For love is not to be understood. It is only to be felt.  The depth of which I was lucky to have experienced in this lifetime. And beyond. Truly.

Of course, it took me its loss to fathom what it really meant.      

The loss of love can be excruciating. It’s almost like losing a part of your soul that you know you will never get back—and you never do. But what you do get is love coming back in other forms. Its manifestation in the physical world may have gone, but love does not end when someone dies. It evolves and simply changes form.

At times, it is followed by the birth of someone in the family or neighborhood.

Other times, it is found in the nurturing arms of Mother Nature –

in the gentle whispers of a summer breeze,

or the heady fragrance of Frangipani on a hot summer’s night

or the carpet of twinkling stars

or a clear, cold winter’s night.

Love, I found, is much like that.

Like the wind, you can’t see it, but you can feel it around.

Many a time, it is found in the lyrics of a song that you happen to hear while walking into a restaurant,

or even in the sound of laughter of your loved ones,

or while watching a movie,

or a vivid dream even.  

The experience of it can be quite surreal. And while you can’t understand it, you know what it is.

Much has been researched and spoken about life after death. But have you ever wondered what happens to ‘love’ after death? Especially when we lose a loved one, where does all the love go? Trust that the love never goes away. On the contrary, it awakens you to its true meaning.

I have experienced it several times after the passing of my beloved husband and mother in recent times. In the beginning, I couldn’t fathom what it was. I remember calling my aunt, who had lost her own husband a few years ago, and she said simply, “They are always with you. They never go away.” Gradually, with time, I began to understand the meaning of her seemingly innocuous words.

And eventually, learned to trust it.

And trust it, you must. Trust that the love never goes away. On the contrary, it awakens you to its true meaning.

Love, in its true form, sets you free. They tell you not to fall deeply in love, lest you lose yourself. But love, in its purest form, helps you find yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

We live in a cynical, cynical world. Modern tales of love and relationships going awry would almost make you not believe it. Hyper feminism and convoluted notions of independence and self-love have somewhere diluted all that love really is. At its very core, it is empowering, inspiring and liberating.

In my journey so far, I have been blessed to have witnessed love in its myriad forms. I have seen its depths, as well as its gentleness, its great passion, its steadfastness, its pain, and its joy, its despair even. I have understood little.

Except that, if you have loved deeply and it has touched your soul, it lives on. So yes, the bond of true love transcends time, space, and even death; if anything, it deepens through our memories, rituals, and little acts of remembrance. It fills you with gratitude for its beauty, magnanimity, myriad colors, magic, and, most of all, its light.

Visuals courtesy: EternallyLoved.com, and YouTube