I continually am in contact with friends, acquaintances and people all over the world who has suffered through the loss of a loved one. It seems even more prevalent during this time of the Holidays. Just yesterday, I connected with several experiences in which there was a loss. Is there such a thing as loss? This is what I am contemplating this morning. The dictionary defines loss as “the act or fact of being unable to keep or maintain something or someone.”

Can we actually lose someone or something? Just the other day I thought I lost a necklace that is precious to me. When I lose a physical item, I will usually do an affirmative prayer (Treatment) that proclaims that in the One Mind, Spirit, nothing is ever loss. If I truly let go and surrender to this idea, the item reappears in an unexpected way. It is guaranteed.

However, the return of a physical item is not the same as the death of a loved one, and I am not trying to make it so. From what I continue to witness, the loss is overwhelming and devastating to the point that one wants to die themselves. I have witnessed this. I can only imagine this kind of despair.

Something happened several weeks ago that gave me a moment to pause and rethink the whole thing. I was in the car with a friend who had suffered such a loss. We were in a conversation when I said something like “Yes, I do not know if you ever get over that type of loss. She immediately said, “I don’t use that word anymore. I haven’t lost him. He’s right here.” She meant it and I could feel her honesty and truth.

This statement made me think deeply on this whole subject. Since this is a feeling Universe and things must be felt before they can be truly embodied, I am feeling into this idea. Since we are all thought and imagination and since we have the compacity to practice empathy and compassion, I connect with this statement as a participant. I think of my own mother who passed several years ago. I miss her physical presence, but I can’t miss the talks we had because she is right here. I feel her on the occasions that I need a word of advice or comfort. Nothing or no one is ever lost.

As I grow older and feel my own mortality and the mortality of those around me, I can feel the veil of death and life as one thing. There is a change but it is not a loss. Everything and everyone is right here. In the Science of Mind philosophy, Dr. Holmes makes the statement that immortality is not something we wait for after death; that immorality is right now. We live in immortality.

So what is this thing that we experience and suffer from called death? I believe it is our attachment to physical form as being the only reality. The more we can live now, practice gratitude and enjoy a multi-dimensional consciousness, the more we can trust the mystery of life called “death,” the more we can just let go and accept that when we need to know, it will be known, the more we can stay present with what is, the more we can allow all our feelings, knowing there is a container of love that holds us, all will be well with us.

I don’t claim to be there, but I trust that this journey in physicality while trusting the unknown is bringing me the understanding that I need.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Rita Andriello-Feren, Co-Founding Director CSL Kaua`i and the Institute of Magnificence and Author of “What Do I Need to KNOW? 101 Thoughts That Changed My Life” and “This Thing Called Treatment,” both available on Amazon.