One night after my wife passed on, as I lay in the emptiness, a thought drifted in. A Christian Science practitioner had once asked my wife and me to consider the material substance called air that we accept is always present everywhere, surrounding us, yet unseen. Then she encouraged us to recognize what it is that’s invisible but really ever-present, encircling us all. It’s divine Love, God. So, in the darkness that night, I prayed to perceive the air around me as a symbol of, or metaphor for, something so much greater—Love’s infinite, spiritual ever-presence, which was present right when and where I was just then. That’s when a healing clarity came to me: “Love hasn’t left this home.”

Our lives might seem the opposite of this. And September 11 is still recalled as a day of great loss by many, not only in the United States but in homes around the world—homes that have lost a husband, wife, son, daughter, or any loved one due to the terrorist attack itself or the decades-long aftermath. To some, their house may still feel the absence of familiar affection, laughter, and that sweet consciousness of another’s precious presence even while in different rooms, engaged in distinct activities. 

Departure of a loved one can come in many forms—decease, divorce, empty-nesting. Yet, that which truly connects us to one another, whether together or apart, is Love itself, the divine Spirit that is God, the All-in-all.