Thank you, Pavithra Metha, for writing of such "rare individuals" whose losses have inspired them to live grace, enriching our world. You must know that they represent the tip of the iceberg. There are so many more whose stories may be less well known. As a singer, teacher and psychotherapist who lost her voice for 22 some years, only to find and employ it in new ways, I can assure you that loss in life is a given, yet the creative spirit is forever alive and well, not nearly as rare as you'd imagine. The key, as Rumi so deftly expresses in the poem you've quoted, is in discovering that the gift which is at the very center of one's God-given skill or talent, as profound loss, becomes the teacher that leads the way through shadows to ultimately emerge into an even more brilliant and compassionate clarity of purpose.
ORIGINAL COMMENT
Thank you, Pavithra Metha, for writing of such "rare individuals" whose losses have inspired them to live grace, enriching our world. You must know that they represent the tip of the iceberg. There are so many more whose stories may be less well known. As a singer, teacher and psychotherapist who lost her voice for 22 some years, only to find and employ it in new ways, I can assure you that loss in life is a given, yet the creative spirit is forever alive and well, not nearly as rare as you'd imagine. The key, as Rumi so deftly expresses in the poem you've quoted, is in discovering that the gift which is at the very center of one's God-given skill or talent, as profound loss, becomes the teacher that leads the way through shadows to ultimately emerge into an even more brilliant and compassionate clarity of purpose.