Finally, if love becomes part of us, we can cooperate with that process. Storytelling and expressive writing help integrate experience; James W. Pennebaker’s research (1997) links narrative construction to improved well-being. Rituals—lighting a candle, revisiting a place, playing a shared song—refresh the bond without freezing it. Acts of service extend a loved one’s values into the world, turning memory into motion. Even brief daily cues, like using a phrase the person favored, keep virtues active rather than nostalgic. In this way, we do not clutch at what is gone; we practice becoming what we love. [...]
