I was very saddened to read that after a couple of weeks of hospitalization, Aidan passed away. Sam Crane, a political scientist at Williams, has cared for his severely handicapped son with love and devotion. strengthed by Taoism and a whole lot of grit. His stories about Aidan are rarely about his own sacrifices, but more often about his deep love for his boy.
Of course, Aidan’s death is, for me, a profound and irreplaceable loss. I feel that loss in my bones. But I find Chuang Tzu’s line popping up in my head: “there can be no loss.” This suggests that what has happened to Aidan will happen to us all; he has merely proceeded us in returning to Way. The pain that I feel is a pain felt by all parents who lose a child. My experience is the same as others; we are all one. This does not lessen the hurt, but is a reminder of the universality of the hurt. What has befallen us is central to the experience of humanity. It is humanity itself because it lays bare our most basic human characteristics: the love of a parent for a child.
So very sorry, Sam.
Apt. 11d 