The essence of life

Finding Solace in a Season of Loss: A Reflection on Life After Losing a Child Fall was always Sana's favorite season. Today, as I walked past a Starbucks and noticed that pumpkin spice coffee was back on the menu, memories of her came rushing back. She loved pumpkin spice; it reminded her of the fall and Halloween—times that brought out the child in her. Simple things like that made her happy, and seeing that seasonal flavor again, I couldn’t help but feel her absence more deeply. As I stood there, a question began to gnaw at me. What is the purpose of our lives? As parents, our role is to nourish and love our children, to give them the best upbringing and values, and to provide them with a means of happiness. But what happens when we lose a child? What is our role then? How do we continue living when the very person we poured our love and energy into is no longer here?As parents, we are often told that our role is to nurture, protect, and guide our children. But what happens when the unthinkable occurs?These questions have haunted me every day since Sana passed, and I find myself questioning the very essence of existence. This isn’t just grief—it’s a profound test, a cruel twist of fate that makes you wonder what purpose it could possibly serve. I find myself shouting into the void, reaching out to any parent who has experienced the unfathomable loss of a child. Do you feel like your life has moved on in a monotonous beat, a rhythm that no longer has meaning or joy? How are we supposed to live our lives after such a loss? While we strive to continue cherishing memories, how do we find any logic or reason in such a tragedy? We hold on to the memories, cherishing them, but how do we find any logic or reason in such a tragedy? The silence of the night is the worst—it's when those memories play like a movie reel in our minds, a never-ending loop of moments that once brought joy but now bring pain. I simply ask: How do you find solace after burying a child? How do you make peace with the loss? I don’t have the answers, but I know that sharing these thoughts, these questions, with others who have been through similar experiences, might be a small step toward healing. Maybe, together, we can find a way to live in a world that no longer makes sense, I know I’m not alone in this struggle. And maybe, in the shared experience of grief, we can begin to find a way forward, one step at a time.