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“On the Death of Anne Brontë” by Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë’s beautiful poem captures the painful grief people experience when they lose a beloved sibling for whom they would have done anything to spare them from the physical and emotional anguish of dyingCharlotte Brontë’s tribute poem to the loss of her baby sister, Anne, serves as an example of the reflections that occur in a grieving person’s mind when they lose someone for whom they deeply loved and cared. Within the span of 10 months, Charlotte Brontë lost three siblings, culminating with Anne’s death. A what-is-now-believed-to-be tuberculosis…
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Saving Face
Salvador Dali’s portrait of his dead brother incorporates — guess who? — himselfSalvador Dali isn’t exactly known for his subtlety. His large ego was only surpassed — and certainly supported — by his wild creativity, which showed us a (very) different way(s) to look at the world. We can look to his paintings and try to piece together the man and the myth that comprises Dali. Take for…
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Our Weekly Tip: Making Sacred Space With Smoke
Smudge sticks — bundles of herbs that burn slowly — can help create a sacred space for a memorial service and end-of-life ceremonyOur Tip of the Week: Our sense of smell is directly connected to the emotional centers of our brains. The waft of smoke from a sweetly-scented herbal bundle can bring us out of our heads and into our bodies as we prepare a physical and emotional space for a memorial service or end-of-life ceremony. Many different…
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“Illuminations From The Bhagavad-Gita”
Verses from a lavish hand-cupped sized book Illuminations From The Bhagavad-GitaLike a moth to a flickering flame, I was drawn to this tiny hand-cupped sized book of gold embellishment: Illuminations From The Bhagavad-Gita. I confess it was a combination of factors that drew me in. The 40-colored pages (plates by authors & artists Kim & Chris Murray) grabbed my eye and the mysticism of Bhagavad-Gita intrigued…
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Viewing or Witnessing a Cremation in America
A cultural practice in the US is slowly being adopted by funeral homes and crematoriumsThe age-old practice of cremating a loved one out in an open air “Pyre” (a topic we have covered prior) is still practiced throughout the world, including in some private locations in the US reserved exclusively for certain religious groups. What many people are unaware of is another indoor form called “witnessing a cremation” or “viewing a…
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Maurice Sendak: “I Am in Love with The World”
The Where The Wild Things Are author talks about living every day of your life in wonder and aweMaurice Sendak was the embodiment of childlike whimsy, even in his final years. In fact, the beloved children’s author was more enchanted by the beauty of life as he got older. In an illustrated interview with “Fresh Air,” Sendak talks about death, and more importantly, what it means to live a full life while you…
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Monday Hearts for Madalene
Page Hodel creates the most beautiful hearts in an ongoing celebration of loveRemembering All My P’s & Q’s For You! It’s an honor for SevenPonds to share with our readers the story of the Monday Hearts for Madalene project, a true account of the power of love in the midst of death. The project’s origins take us to 2005: the moment Page Hodel encountered Madalene Rodriguez and fell “instantly, dizzyingly in…
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Light Passing Through
Amy Friend’s photographs materialize the transience of light and beingAmy Friend’s photographic series “Dara Alla Luce” whispers ephemeral. Orbs of light give form to lines of the body, subjects whose physiology has long been returned to the dirt of the earth. Dara alla luce is Italian, translated as “to bring to the light.” We are creatures of the light, and our light burns out eventually. We can be here…
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