Longing that never disappears – especially during the Christmas

A longing that does not disappear – only changes form.

This is the time when longing beats stronger. It makes itself known more often and more intensely.
It’s the time when everything around reminds me of what lives within me every day, since the day my parents were no longer here. It’s something I don’t talk about every day or show because, quite simply, life goes on. But that feeling is always there inside — every day, every moment, every minute, and every second.

After the process of taming it, taking care of it, understanding it, feeling it, and getting used to it, space and room for life begin to emerge. No, it doesn’t disappear. It stays — it just takes on a secondary role. A hidden, tucked-away form of love and longing. Because it doesn’t go away. It just hides in the background. It serves as a reminder that life passes by, and if it’s not lived fully, it becomes sad and wasted. It is a friend, a value, that plays many roles in my life.

This, for me, is what longing for loved ones who have passed away feels like. That’s how I feel it.

This longing is not just strong and intense in its nature. It also gives strength to live fully, to live at 100%. And that, in short, is what its shades are like in honour of National Grief Awareness Week 2024.

In my thoughts, I hold close everyone who knows this feeling, whether they experience it in the same way or differently.
Because in these matters, only those who have experienced it understand that it has so many colours and shades that no palette is big enough. The most important thing is that the colours of its shades are the ones with which YOU resonate and through which YOU flow through life. What this longing brings to our lives is only OURS.

I wish you a holiday that is truly yours – not ‘how it should be,’ not ‘how it’s expected,’ but exactly how you feel it needs to be. May it bring you peace, warmth, and comfort. All the best to you.

Marta Watroba