⛩ the gentle hum of twilight, I sit with my thoughts, meditating on a truth that touches us all - the transience of life. I am Li Mei, an elder of my community, and today, I reflect on our ancestors, their wisdom, and how it shapes our understanding of loss.

❤️In our Chinese culture, saying farewell to a loved one is a sacred act, imbued with rituals and traditions that have stood the test of time. It's a journey of the soul, a passage from one life to the next, and an opportunity for those left behind to express their love and respect. We believe in the persistence of the spirit, a bond that transcends the earthly realm.

We honor our departed loved ones with offerings, with incense, with our prayers. Even in their physical absence, they continue to be a part of our lives, their memories woven into the fabric of our existence. In the silence of my home, I gaze at the ancestral altar, the photographs, the familiar faces staring back at me. They may not walk among us, but their influence remains, guiding our paths, offering silent counsel in the quiet moments.

The pain of loss is universal, but so is the capacity for love and remembrance. For every tear shed, there's a memory cherished, a story told, a life celebrated. As I grow older, I find comfort in this balance, in the delicate dance between sorrow and joy, loss and celebration. After all, to remember is to keep alive, and in our hearts, our loved ones never truly leave. In this dance of life and death, we find our strength, honoring the past, cherishing the present, and welcoming the future with open hearts.

Our ancestors may be gone, but their spirits live on, in us, and in the generations to come. And that, to me, is the most beautiful tribute we could ever offer.