Hearts ‘In Memory.’ As I write this post today, I know it is Pearl Harbor Day, not just for its historical significance, but because that is how one dear client always related her birth date. Today would have been her 52nd birthday. A kind and gentle soul with a joy for life, she died much too young. Walden Pond was one of her favorite places. Shortly after she passed I walked there in her memory, with one of her friends. On the walk I saw a ‘heart rock’ (pictured above) and took a photo, in her memory. If you look close, on the left side there’s even a second small, upside down blue heart.
Heart Rocks, as a Metaphor for Love. Many who know me or follow me on social media know that I frequently post photos of the ‘hearts’ that I find or ‘see’ in nature. So much so, that others have begun to ‘share’ the hearts they find, like this ‘potato chip’ heart shown below. Keep your eyes open! You just never know where you might find a heart. I encourage this sharing of hearts as a metaphor for ‘sharing love.’
Surrounded by Love. I have received many heart gifts through the years: heart rocks, photo books, calendars, paper weights, soap dishes, etc. These heart-shaped items are loving memories of those that gifted them, and a reminder for me to try to always come from the heart, when speaking and interacting with others.
Serendipity and ‘Finding Hearts,’ in Memory. The word serendipity was coined by Horace Walpole, who gave this name to his ability to find things unexpectedly – serendipity. I don’t recall when I first began ‘finding’ hearts in nature, but one of my first memories of finding a heart-shaped rock unexpectedly ‘in memory’ of someone came some months after another dear client died. Having just received a note and a gift from my client’s husband, I was feeling a bit melancholy and wanted to get outside to go for a walk.
But I did not want to be alone, so I asked my husband to join me. Seldom do my husband and I take walks together in Rockport, and even more rare, in the middle of a work day. But that day when I asked him to take a walk with me he agreed, suggesting we go to Pebble Beach in Rockport MA. So we drove to Pebble Beach. My husband sat and photographed the swans in adjacent Camborne Pond, while I strolled the beach, looking for ‘heart rocks’ in memory; for her husband and a teenage daughter. Here, I found two heart rocks; one that looked very much like a human heart, in size and shape, with four chambers and blood vessels on its exterior. The other, a small smooth, black heart-shaped rock, perfect for her daughter. Later, I came to find out from her husband that “Pebble Beach was where we went after her chemotherapy (treatments). I would walk the beach picking up pebbles, and she would sit by the pond and watch the swans.”
Hearts and Rainbows, in Memory of Tina. My dear colleague died June 25th, 2014. Like many who knew and loved her, I did not have a chance to say goodbye. A couple of weeks after Tina died, in one 24-hour period I saw 3 rainbows over the town of Rockport where Tina lived. It felt as if she placed them there for me to see, as she had always spoke of Rockport MA as “God’s Country.” I referred to these 3 rainbows as ‘Tina’s Trifecta.’
Exactly one year and one day after Tina’s passing, I walked Niles Beach in her memory. During that walk, I found a number of heart-shaped rocks, including one perfectly shaped heart rock, colored red by algae. And, at the end of my walk , a rainbow appeared over Nile’s pond.”
The Synchronicity of Finding Heart Rocks and Rainbows, in memory. This summer, June 25th I headed out to photograph sunset. Generally, I walk to a local sunset view but when I realized the sky looked as if there might be a rainbow, I got in my car and drove up the coast. Ending up at Halibut State Park in Rockport MA. I began thinking of Tina and was treated to an amazing sunset, two rainbows, and another heart rock, in memory. Look close, and you will find a second heart rock in this photo too.
“I Always Think of You.” Through the years, I would share my heart stories with my mother, as a way of opening up conversations with her about death and dying, the possibility of life after death and a continued ‘connection.’ My mom died this August, at the age of “almost 91,” still very much wanting to live longer. In her final weeks she would often say, “tell them I’m 91. I’m closer to 91.” So proud of her longevity, while maintaining her independence, sharp mind and quick wit.
Mom loved Anna’s Swedish thins and I would often mail or bring these when I visited. Visiting last year, mom told me how much she “enjoys her Anna’s cookies with a cup of tea.” “When I break them into quarters, they form a perfect heart, and I alway think of you.”
Today, I am reminiscing about and thinking of these women, with gratitude. They are some of the many wonderful women I have been graced to know, women of courage, strength and grace, who loved life, and whose smiles I miss, but continue to see in my mind, whenever I think of them.
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” – Lao Tzu