Candles depicted in the Wave of Light
Straying slightly from the work I was doing this summer and earlier this semester, I wanted to dedicate this post to the event that Sauls Light put on in October called Wave of Light. On October 15th at 7:00 pm (in whatever time zone you are in), all around the world candles are lit to celebrate the lives of babies who left this Earth too soon.
I was given the opportunity to finally meet my boss and executive director/founder of Sauls Light, Kimberly Novod in person to set up a beautiful ceremony for the babies of Saul’s Light supporters. We put together an event on Instagram Live and had lumineers for each baby that needed to be named and celebrated. Saying these babies names out loud and knowing that their names would be heard that night was incredibly powerful.
Kimberly had prepared a poem to read to honor both the families and babies who had passed away and we kept the candles lit for an entire hour. Reading the babies names multiple times we thought about all of these families who are grieving as well as so many more around the world. Knowing you’re not alone is such an important piece of grief and healing. Sitting in the park and talking to Kimberly about life after losing a child was both heartbreaking and hopeful. While Kimberly has faced incredible grief herself, she provides comfort and hope for so many others who experience the same or similar loss. She described this as both a blessing and a curse. I think that while it is part of the healing process to help others to heal, this work can be emotionally taxing especially with such a personal connection. This is an important aspect to consider when choosing what field to go into especially for fields that involve helping people. You have to make sure that you have adequate time to help and heal yourself before you can give to others. Kimberly has so eloquently exemplified this through her work each and everyday and I hope to absorb even just a little bit of her super power.
Sincerely,
Sophie Lieberman