Samwise lives in your neurons; your physical brain has created pathways just for him. I'm not a neurologist or anything, but that much is clear to me. He's around in you and everyone who formed a memory of him.

That's a nice thought, thanks. :-)

Sorry about your Samwise, Swampy. Glad to see you back.

Back in black, back on track. Glad to have you here again, @swampgirl. Terribly sorry about samwise.

Swampy, I had an English teacher say to a prized student once "GOSH I wish I could just bottle you up to show other students how to act!" I'm unsure why, perhaps I though I should be emulating her, but that metaphor has stuck with me for a long time.

Since then, I've used it to deal with, among other things, loss. I've done this with a lot of people in my life (usually only people I don't plan on seeing anymore: ex-girlfriends, childhood friends whom I've lost touch with, and any relatives/friends who are now deceased). I do a bit more than remember the "good times," they're characters in my mind that I can call on and say "What would __________ do if he/she were here to make me feel better?"

Very recently, three weeks ago to be precise, my grandfather passed away. It's the first time I've had to deal with a serious loss like that since losing religion myself, and I found solace using my "bottle" method. My grandpa joked around constantly, often times in awkward situations (this past Thanksgiving, he told me a joke about a guy "fucking a dog in the ass" with my little nephews near by). And, as weird as it sounds, I found myself at his funeral imagining him hanging out with me saying something like "Well shit, when you gotta go!"

You can probably guess what Samwise would do if he saw you moping around the house. My advice is to use that to help you through your tough time. Hope this helps!

You don't have to believe in imaginary friends or secret places in the sky to know that Samwise is still around. Not in the same form, but it's a simple fact that he left his mark on everything and everyone he ever touched (in more ways than one, I imagine). That can't be undone, in the very same way that matter and energy (and information, according to my own recent theorizing) can't be destroyed, only changed.

I know all too well that doesn't replace what's missing, but it's worth thinking about.


[edit] tl;dr: what UsesProzac said.