By Ted Glick
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There's a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone.
Rodgers and Hammerstein, 1945
Three months ago, on September 21st, the 13th anniversary of my dear mom’s death after close to a decade of decline due to Alzheimer’s, I had an experience that I still shake my head about.
I was doing one of my early-morning, long-distance bike rides, in the dark at about 5:45 in the morning. I had just finished pedaling up a longish hill and turned onto a long, straight road. As is usual on my rides, my main mental focus was on the street in front of me and for the lights or sound of cars or trucks coming up behind me. Nothing of note had yet come into my brain, as always eventually happens on one of my hour and a half or longer rides.
For me, these rides are my form of meditation.
I remember the thought coming into my mind that this was the day my mom had died 13 years ago. I had been thinking about her all week. Then, from out of nowhere, came the words to and melody of the song, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
I don’t know how long it had been since I had heard or thought of this song. I know it’s at least six and a half years because that’s how long I’d been long-distance biking as of three months ago, and I can’t remember ever remembering it over that time. It could easily be 10, 20 or more years. But on this day, this special day for me and my two sisters and others who loved my mom, following several days of remembering her, this song arrived as a gift, as if my mom’s spirit was holding me close.
I was stupefied as I realized what was happening. My mouth dropped and I struggled to understand. My first thought was to wonder if this really was a spiritual revelation, an actual visit by my mom from the world beyond the physical world, “the great mystery” as some call it. My initial thoughts were along the lines of, “how could it be anything but this?” How could a song that had been essentially one of many thousands that I’ve heard somewhere in my past but which has never been one which I’ve sung or even hummed to myself—how could that song, so appropriate for this day, so strengthening, so profound, come to me in this way?
As I continued my ride, as I kept thinking about what was happening, my thoughts went deeper.
Click here for the full article.
Source: tedglick.com
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There's a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone.
Rodgers and Hammerstein, 1945
Three months ago, on September 21st, the 13th anniversary of my dear mom’s death after close to a decade of decline due to Alzheimer’s, I had an experience that I still shake my head about.
I was doing one of my early-morning, long-distance bike rides, in the dark at about 5:45 in the morning. I had just finished pedaling up a longish hill and turned onto a long, straight road. As is usual on my rides, my main mental focus was on the street in front of me and for the lights or sound of cars or trucks coming up behind me. Nothing of note had yet come into my brain, as always eventually happens on one of my hour and a half or longer rides.
For me, these rides are my form of meditation.
I remember the thought coming into my mind that this was the day my mom had died 13 years ago. I had been thinking about her all week. Then, from out of nowhere, came the words to and melody of the song, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
I don’t know how long it had been since I had heard or thought of this song. I know it’s at least six and a half years because that’s how long I’d been long-distance biking as of three months ago, and I can’t remember ever remembering it over that time. It could easily be 10, 20 or more years. But on this day, this special day for me and my two sisters and others who loved my mom, following several days of remembering her, this song arrived as a gift, as if my mom’s spirit was holding me close.
I was stupefied as I realized what was happening. My mouth dropped and I struggled to understand. My first thought was to wonder if this really was a spiritual revelation, an actual visit by my mom from the world beyond the physical world, “the great mystery” as some call it. My initial thoughts were along the lines of, “how could it be anything but this?” How could a song that had been essentially one of many thousands that I’ve heard somewhere in my past but which has never been one which I’ve sung or even hummed to myself—how could that song, so appropriate for this day, so strengthening, so profound, come to me in this way?
As I continued my ride, as I kept thinking about what was happening, my thoughts went deeper.
Click here for the full article.
Source: tedglick.com
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