From the archive / Well-being
A morning ritual for difficult seasons
SourceReflectionPractice
Four small morning rites for meeting difficult seasons without abandoning the body.
Well-being
The Weight of an Unanswered Letter to the Dead
On traditions of writing to those who have died, and what the practice offers regardless of whether anyone reads it.
OriginTeachingPracticeIntegration
Several traditions include a practice of writing to someone who has died: a letter that will never be read by its addressee, composed anyway, sometimes burned, sometimes kept, sometimes read aloud at a grave.
The practice does not depend on a belief that the letter will reach anyone. Its value is located entirely in the writing itself, and in the specific kind of unfinished conversation grief tends to leave behind.
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No notes yet. The first reflection can set the tone for the rest of the conversation.