The memory of being cherished as one's own person

We have been supporting a woman at Nanohana for several years who had lost her dear and beloved husband and was grieving and had lost her direction in life.

She had been struggling to escape the loss of her husband for the past several years. Nahana also guided her to various local communities, but she never participated, saying that she needed to be with her family.

One year ago, she started to join some communities, doing radio exercises and chatting with them. I still don't know why. The members of Nanohana have been surprised by this and have watched it as a good thing.

This week I had the opportunity to talk with her.

I mentioned that she has been participating in several communities, and she replied that she was having a good time first of all.

However, she added that when she goes home after a good time, she feels unfulfilled because she has no one to talk to about the fun she had that day.

The story reminded me of "The Pianist on the Boat.

A little later, I suggested that she connect with her friends in the community via phone or social networking sites.

But she still replied, "I have to be family.

I agreed that it did.

But then she said something that surprised me.

She realized that she had lived her whole life as if she was wrapped in a cotton wool. She realized that she might never meet someone like that again. She lamented that she might never meet such a person again.

I then muttered to her that there are people who will live their entire lives without ever meeting such a person.

That's when I said, "If you see someone like that, give them a hand.

I said, "If there is someone like that, I want to reach out to them."

No one may be able to take away or resolve her grief. However, she seemed to have slowly digested her painful experience by unknowingly receiving care from people's interactions and memories of being cared for.

There are difficulties in life that one cannot face alone. At that time, even if we cannot solve the problem, we may be able to live if we have friends who can face it together. It could be a warm family memory, or a friend with whom we share only a part of our daily life.

What is most important is the memory of being cherished as one's own person.