Somebody Who Is Loved

It’s another special day, the date of birth of someone dearly loved … Josh Brown. It is also the birthday of many others who are loved, but, of course for me especially I am thinking about Josh.

Recently the classic song "To Love Somebody" written by Barry and Robin Gib and released first by the Bee Gees has been in my mind. I’ve played through it a few times on the guitar and today especially the words seem to resonate as I think about the great love stored up in me for the person whose birthday it is.

“You don’t know what it’s like
Baby, you don’t know what it’s like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you.”

I initially think…that’s so true. No one can know what it’s like to love him the way I do but then I take a second look around my friends, community and even people I’ve been sharing a grief journey with and I realize that indeed other people DO know what’s like. They know what it is like to love someone greatly. This person could Josh (his friends and family) but this same depth of love is what another might have for their parent, sibling, friend or spouse.

Can someone feel exactly the same as I do for Josh? Probably not, but they can still relate. The beautiful and hard element of grief is that the depth of our love for the person is what causes the grief to hurt so much. It is what has us feeling alone and convincing ourself that no one could possibly understand how I am feeling.

The truth is, in our grief we can relate one to another and we are bonded in a unique way.

As I celebrate Josh’s birthday, I am encouraged to keep loving other people. It doesn’t have to be a comparison of how much I loved him compared to someone else - it can be whatever it needs to be.

What a joy it is to love and care for someone else and to celebrate their life both here and in Heaven.

On this day, I took a moment to light a candle on water as a way remember this love - not that I could forget. It was a good pause on the day.

Keep loving friends! ❤️🕯️

And of course, happy 47th birthday Josh.
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