People Are Going To Die

Today I'm wondering why the most human thing about us — that we will inevitably lose people — is the thing we talk about the least. Been thinking about this since talking to Susan Cain who wroteQuietand thenBittersweet.Susan has spent a lot of time exploring melancholy, which is a state I am not afraid of and find myself in frequently, often prompted by music. Listen to the episode here Here are my takeaways from our conversation: Sorrow is a uniting force. Longing is momentum in disguise. Sad songs make us happier than happy songs. Living in a state of fragility, which we all are, can make us much wiser. God bless the vagus nerve. All big love ends in big loss for someone. [RIP Bazooka.] This line of poetry says it all: 'I know that this world of dew is a world of dew — buteven so.' Grief guilt — the feeling that moving forward somehow betrays the person you lost — is one of the most common and least necessary forms of suffering. Every person we have ever loved lives inside us forever. The tragedy of this life is linked inescapably with its undeniable splendor. What's your favorite sad song? I have so many. Patty Griffin works wonders on me.Long Ride Home, Let Him Fly, Nobody's Crying. Ani DiFranco'sBoth Hands, Shawn Colvin'sPolaroidsor her cover of Bob Dylan'sYou're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go. I could give you 100. Liz Phair'sDivorce Song. Richard Thompson'sVincent Black Lightning 1952makes Edward tear up every single time. And on and on. Share yours so I can dig in. Love being in regular contact with you here. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support this work.