Oh Yes, You Can!
Thomas Wolfe`s novel, “You Can`t Go Home Again” relates changes that happened since his main character left home at an earlier time. The changes were not favorable to his character`s well being. He had no influence on them. They caused him emotional pain. In essence, a sad story.
The story that follows is about going home again, but, in an entirely different manner. In a manner you can control. Control to the extent that painful memories can be replaced by those of joy.
In this story, a darkened house represents what was formerly a joyful home. A home lighted by memories, good and bad, but memories of a precious part of an interrupted life. To be sure, the memories cannot fully restore the light that lit up that house before it was disconnected. But, memories can restore and relight small increments of the image of that darkened house.
Let`s try an analogy that gets at how it can be done…
There are two types of electrical circuits that can power a string of lights, series and parallel. I have taken and modified from Google, a simple explanation:
In a series circuit, every light must be functional for the circuit to be complete. If one light is not able to burn then the whole circuit will not function. All the lights will be out. In parallel circuits, each light has its own circuit, so one or more lights could be burned out, but the remainder will function in their best manner.
So it is in our restorations of lost connections. Only, in this analogy we are never going to reconnect the huge light our series circuit enabled, but we can still rewire, in parallel circuits, the remaining active lights. In simple terms visualize a huge string of Christmas tree lights wired in series. If one or more bulbs don’t function, the circuit is broken and the entire string goes out. If that same circuit were to be rewired into a parallel circuit, all functioning lights would be lit no matter what other lights were out.
It is in this analogy we premise our website restoration process. The analogy is a physical fact, and if it works in the physical world, why can`t it work in the spiritual. I believe it does, and my own spiritual attitude reflects it. My loss is not completely replaced, and never will be on this earth, but I have reenergized some of the components, and they light up some of my previously dark regions.
At the beginning of this process, not a lot of the previously lighted images will be restored, but as in all processes, time is a factor. In this case, restoration will necessarily occur over a fair period of time. But, restoration will occur, and it will relight previously dark areas. With due time and effort, outlines of the previously lighted image will reappear.
Pictures speak louder than words. The first picture below shows the image of a house as it might appear in a series lighted light (in this case daylight).
Everything out and around the house is visible. The overall outline, windows, door, trees, and bushes are easily defined.
The picture below shows that same house when the main light ceases to function and sets of parallel wired bulbs have been strung in and around it as in a Christmas decorating.
Darkness surrounds it, but certain details are still a part of the overall picture. Over time more strings can be wired and extended. That would make the total image take on a lot of its original outline and character. The picture below is a rendition of those possibilities.
In this picture, the outline of the complete house is coming into view It is so much brighter. It can never become as visible as it was in daylight, but a lot of its characteristics can be restored, even in the surrounding darkness. In effect, the “we” that existed in that house can never be a part of current conversation, but the “us” can be relighted.
Think of this website as the doorway to reentering the realm of “us”. Much like the relighted doorway as seen in the second picture. It shows us where the entrance is to the house. Now we need to go in and add more lights to our “us” restoration.
Those lights are our memories. You will read many stories and see many things on this site that show how others have successfully rewired their circuits and plugged in revisited memories as they proceeded in their relighting process.
This site is designed to provide real life examples of that relighting process. You can, read, or view the various expressions, learn from them, and then go about creating your own form of expression. Your expression of how you accomplished your restoration. There are no better communicants than those who have been in the same place. Who have experienced the same kind of loss. We relate to each other. We support each other. We listen to each other. Together, our joint efforts will plug more bright bulbs into all of our strings.
Start wiring and plugging (doing and expressing your relighting). Relighting your “us”.
All the stories we share will benefit each of us. The doing, the showing, and the telling. They are what this site is all about. You can go home again. We can all go home again, together.