Welcoming the night

I wish I knew how to encourage someone to welcome the night. I wish I had the words to say and the strength to impart.

I know someone who's nearing the closing of the day, to the welcoming of the night. I wish I could be with her to at least stand and face the darkness by her side. But it's probably not my place anyway. And I could probably not find the words or the attitude or the compassion or the courage to be truly there.

It may be that she holds on and doesn't go straight away. I'm not sure what she'll decide. Maybe this time next year she'll still be here - holding on to her piece of light. To the patch of experience that she knows. But the night will still be there, and I will still want to be there facing it with her.

I'm reading John O'Donohue at the moment, he writes this, among other things, about the journey of death:

"At the time of death, the soul knows how to protect its precious cargo. While death will stop and empty the body, the soul will ferry your essence into eternal life. Not one moment of you will be lost in the crossing. Eternal life is the province of the soul, this is where the soul is at home. For your soul then, death is indeed a homecoming"

I hope she knows this. I pray she may know this.