A few days ago, I looked to the towering palm outside my window for inspiration as I often do. It was gone. Its owner cut it down that morning. Yet, for me, the Purposeful Palm is not gone. It’s as present as ever, only in an inverse form. My mind invented a palm-shaped hole in the landscape, as if a phantom tree inhabited it. I sense an absence.

It occurred to me that my experience with the Purposeful Palm is a lite version of what happens when we lose someone we love. Lost ones remain present, only in the negative. We no longer see or hear them, but we feel the void they left. This, of course, can be emotionally excruciating. At a proper time in our healing journey, however, our recollection of the departed is an opportunity to honor them, augment their legacy and keep their spirit alive.

PS: Sadly, this will be the last Purposeful Palm post as it no longer exists. Ofc course, I will continue to live its spirit.