Widow's Voice

That is the roller coaster that is life.

| Posted by:

roller coaster

Whoever first coined the phrase, “life is like a roller coaster”, really was spot on. It’s all there – anticipation, regret, excitement, anxiety, smooth sailing, times when you feel like you’ll fly off track, and of course, all the peaks and valleys. What goes up, must come down and what goes down goes up again. It’s a good analogy.

Let me share with you a poem I recently stumbled on that is on this theme…

Life

CHILDREN, ye have not lived, to you it seems
Life is a lovely stalactite of dreams,
Or carnival of careless joys that leap
About your hearts like billows on the deep
In flames of amber and of amethyst.

Children, ye have not lived, ye but exist
Till some resistless hour shall rise and move
Your hearts to wake and hunger after love,
And thirst with passionate longing for the things
That burn your brows with blood-red sufferings.

Till ye have battled with great grief and fears,
And borne the conflict of dream-shattering years,
Wounded with fierce desire and worn with strife,
Children, ye have not lived: for this is life.

–Sarojini Naidu

And yes, death is quite possibly the biggest event on the roller coaster. It is quite possibly the biggest grief and biggest heartache we get to experience. It is something so many fear. It can cause immense suffering for those who have lost love ones. It is part of life.

But what is important is that it is not all life. Remember, there are ups and downs. Fun, happiness, and all things labeled “good” are also part of life. It’s easy to lose sight of that at times. Each death of a loved one I experience reminds me to be grateful that those people were in my life. That we had good, fun and happy times as well as difficult times. We experienced it all and that is life. Each death again reminds me to savor all that is life because I am still here living it.

About Sherry Holub

I met my spouse, Mario, at UCLA School of Art in 1993. After graduating in 1995, I founded a small agency specializing in web and graphic design. Mario became my partner in the company in 1999. In 2002, we were married at the Costa Mesa, CA court house because neither of us wanted a big wedding ceremony (after already being together since 1995).

Mario was a highly talented artist, musician, illustrator and 3D Designer, but a tortured one. He was one of those gentle, creative souls who ended up burning twice as bright for half as long. Mario lost the battle with liver disease induced by alcoholism (almost exactly 6 months after he became sober) on 2/10/21.

I’m a long-time artist and writer with a background in photography who enjoys cooking, getting outdoors, staying young at heart, and sharing experiences to potentially help others. When it comes to writing, I’ve written both for fun and professionally over the years. Writing is also sometimes therapy for me and I don’t mind sharing my personal experiences with a wider audience.