The Smell of Rain on Dust: Grief and Praise book by Martín Prechtel
Grief is a feeling we all have experienced. Grief can be difficult to deal with. Losing a loved one can be devastating. There are different books, theories, and ideas out there about what is the best way to deal with grief.
The Smell of Rain on Dust: Grief and Praise by Martín Prechtel consists of 13 chapters and an introduction.
Martin Prechtels’ writing is very intense and to the point in his book The Smell of Rain on Dust: Grief and Praise.
He asserts the possibility that every person is capable of love. Yet people can get stuck and be in a surrounding that is not helpful for them.
The author starts the book by creating a scene with a river and a metaphor “of the river of the collective human soul”. He looks at art and human souls as “unique jewels”. Human souls require support and a little light to show the way.
Martin Prechtel asserts that each one of us has the power to create change and become that jewel in the river of beautiful souls by embracing our humanity.
In his first chapter, Martin Prechtel talks about grief. Grief is natural and essential; it is part of our lives. Grieving is a necessity Martin Prechtel asserts. Grieving can happen in different ways and forms for different people. Grieving takes time and this time can be different for each person. Martin Prechtel looks at grief and pairs it with praise. He states that “grief and praise are renters whose landlord is love”.
Martín Prechtel discusses normal grief that can strike a person at any moment throughout life as we change throughout life. Grief can be caused by many different things including losing parents, growing, and raising children, and conflicts that arise in our lives with people and family that keep each other apart.
Martín Prechtel discusses life changes and rites of passage as something that can be practiced throughout life to work on and experience not just for youth but at any age. Martín Prechtel brings up a very interesting point when he talks about our first loss at birth. He states:” The heaviest of losses comes to all of us when we are babies in the womb lose our mother’s heartbeats when we are born.”
Martín Prechtel discusses our time in the womb of our mothers and how this is a time that many people seek to remember but cannot and creates a sense of longing in our unconscious minds. He discusses our upbringing and the people around us who can provide support and care for us.
His notion of spending time in the womb for the first nine months and that time is the world of a lifetime in a sense is unique. He is right, after birth we will never have the same sensation of breathing in water, moving in the water while we were developing, and hearing our mother’s heartbeat and breathing. It is a unique experience that most of us forget.
Martin Prechtel book is easily readable and brings up great points when we look at grief. He looks at grief as an experience, a movement that people experience when they lose someone they love because of disappearance or death.
Grief is not an easy topic and Martin Prechtel approaches this topic holistically with many inspiring words of wisdom. In our fast-paced society today when usually 3 days are allowed off from work for bereavement is essential to understand what grief is, and how we can process it. It is not easy to process grief by oneself. Having a community of people around you when you process grief and celebrate life – your tribe – is essential for the healing process.
Martin Prechtel also discusses the ability to praise people who are living and how this is connected to the grief process. Lift people, elevate them, and support one another.
Having a community around you and building support for each other throughout a grieving process is a key element of living a life that will bring out the jewel each person is in the river of souls.
References
Martin Prechtel - The Smell of Rain on Dust: Grief and Praise
Thank you for reading,
Gabriella
I hope you have enjoyed this article by Dr. Gabriella Kőrösi. Please subscribe to my stories and Newsbreak below. Learn more about my work on my website www.gabriellakorosi.org
Dr. Kőrösi Gabriella also writes in her publication Dancing Elephants Press on Medium and has a Gabriella's YouTube Channel
Dr. Kőrösi Gabriella has a Ph.D. in public health, and a master’s in nursing and she is the author of multiple books. She focuses on topics about healing, addiction, health, mental health, wellness, travel experiences, and poetry.
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