Trafficking in the World of Possibilities

Exploring the further ramifications of the subjunctive mood and mode of thinking about possibilities that it enables. We are interested in its usefulness for the purpose of conducting conversations about death, grief and bereavement. Some things can be more easily talked about in a the subjunctive than in the indicative mood after a person has died. How are conversations with the bereaved difference when we speak imaginatively in the ‘as if…’ frame that would be impossible within the harshness of a realist indicative ay of speaking? What aspects of relationship are affirmed and strengthened when we speak hypothetically? Could possibility open doors (or perhaps move unyielding traffic) to a more livable reality when we enlist a subjunctive auxiliary verb or two?