Grieving a “stranger” | Tich Nhat Hanh

My heart arises with grief. I ask myself, “What am I grieving?” “Is it appropriate to grieve someone I have never met?” “Who am I grieving?” “Am I grieving Thich Nhat Hanh, or just the person he was to me?” 

Questions aries. Yet, I feel little desire to answer them. All I know is what is real to me right now, and that is that I am experiencing grief. It feels like a thickness has come over me. A sadness that has lead to tears gently being released from my eyes. A pressure on my shoulders that feels like anxiety, as a result of not knowing how to handle this grief of someone I have never met, and questioning wether or not its valid for me to be grieving at all. A lightness in my belly dances, it does not question what I am feeling at all, instead it validates it. 

Grieving someone I have never met is new for me, and quite strange if I am being honest. It feels real, yet part of me is belittling it, and at the same time a voice within is strongly and gently leading me towards this grief, not away from it. 

I enter in, and I find I am not alone. This grief I am experiencing is felt around the world. The sadness and confusion are met with something new, a sacred acknowledgment of the wonderful gift to the world Thich Nhat Hanhs was, and is. A deep desire to honor his life rises within me and I am lead to the zoom ceremony where his brothers and sisters gather to place his body in his casket. I am enveloped by the tangible sacred presence immediately as I join. I am overwhelmed with goosebumps, chills, and my body becomes light from head to toe. I did not know these people, I was not a part of their community, yet here I am thousands of miles away very much a part of it all. Unity filled the room, and suddenly I was there, yet it wasn’t me there with them, it was just us. All of us. Joining together to honor not only Thich Nhat Hanhs life, but all that he birthed in the world as a result of something much bigger than himself, love. 

Entering into this grief reminded me that everyone belongs to everything. My grief admittedly and importantly is very different that the grief of those who lived with him. Yet, there is space for my grief as well. Allowing this grief to guide me instead of trying to deny it opened me up to experience the unity in both the sadness and sacredness that arises in death. 

Today, I am thankful for the movement of grief, for its presence. Today I am thankful for Thich Nhat Hanh. I bow to you in honor. I thank you for the wisdom you have shared with me. May the same love that compelled you, compel me, and us all.