A decade after the tragic loss of his son, Arthur, renowned musician Nick Cave has taken the time to deeply reflect on his profound grief and the invaluable life lessons he has gained throughout the grieving process.

Cave shared his heartfelt thoughts on his regularly-updated Red Hand Files website, where he engaged with fans by addressing questions about the insights he and his wife, Susie Cave, have discovered over the years since their son’s passing, particularly whether the sorrow they feel is an everlasting presence in their lives.

“The pain remains, but I have found that it evolves over time,” Cave expressed poignantly. “Grief matures with age, transforming from a personal affront and a sense of cosmic betrayal into a more poetic aspect of existence as we learn to embrace and surrender to it.

“As we face the unbearable injustice of death, what initially seems impossible to endure eventually reveals itself to be not so unbearable after all. The essence of sorrow deepens, becoming richer and more textured. It transforms into something more intriguing, creative, and beautiful.

“To my great astonishment, I realized that I was part of a universal human narrative,” he noted. “I began to appreciate the profound value and potential inherent in our shared humanity while simultaneously confronting the alarming reality of our existence. I learned that we are all destined to die.

“I came to understand that while each individual is unique and special, our shared pain and brokenness connect us all. Over time, Susie and I recognized that the world is not indifferent or cruel; rather, it is precious and loving – indeed, lovely – always leaning towards goodness.”

Cave’s son, Arthur, tragically passed away on July 14, 2015, due to injuries suffered from a fall off a cliff in Brighton, Sussex, England. In a heartfelt joint statement at that time, the Caves expressed, “Our son Arthur died on Tuesday evening. He was our beautiful, happy, loving boy.”

Cave’s journey through grief was poignantly captured during the recording sessions for Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ 2016 album Skeleton Tree. The subsequent documentary, directed by Andrew Dominik and titled One More Time with Feeling, offered an intimate glimpse into Cave’s emotional landscape and that of the band during this tumultuous time.

“I discovered that the initial trauma of Arthur’s death served as a coded message through which God spoke to me, and that God was less about faith or belief and more about a way of seeing,” Cave elaborated in his reflective post.

“I came to perceive God as a form of awareness, a means of recognizing the poetic resonance embedded in existence. I found that God is interwoven into all things, including the greatest evils and our deepest despair. Sometimes, I feel the world pulsating with a rich, lyrical energy; at other times, it appears flat, void, and malevolent. I realized that God is present and active in both of these contrasting experiences.”

“I’m uncertain about what else I’ve learned, […] except that here we stand, a decade later, still living within the radiant core of our trauma, the place where all thoughts and dreams converge, and where hope and sorrow coexist. This is the bright and teary eye of the storm – the whirling boy who is God, just like everything else,” Cave concluded. “We remember him today.”

Cave has recently utilized his Red Hand Files platform to share reflections on lighter topics, including his decision to decline an offer from Morrissey to participate in an “anti-woke screed” on a track, as well as entertaining anecdotes of being mistaken for the similarly named actor Nicolas Cage.