Grief is a natural response to loss, though it is rarely so welcome that we open to it fully. It feels more like a heavy, contracted energy to me when I feel it fresh. And it seems most people are so uncomfortable with it that even the subject is taboo. Yet, we all go through it. We all feel it. It’s raw and utterly tangible. And there is no running from it – it’s far too powerful for that. Why not try opening fully to grief?
When was the last time you talked with a friend about their grief or yours? And have you ever met anyone how was comfortable sharing this sacred space of grief with you? I have a friend or two who hold space beautifully when I am grieving, with quiet, loving acceptance. What a blessing to held so.
Mostly, I process grief between myself and Higher Power… asking questions and begging for understanding and clarity. Questions like: “why now,” “why this person,” and even, “why them and not me?” Ultimately, the clarity does not seem to come in the mind, but lights up in the heart like an ache, followed by a well-defined and recognized feeling of love we had for whatever is ‘lost’ or ‘transitioned’ or irrevocably changed. And then, after some time and tumbling through the tumultuous emotion grief brings, I feel such an expansion in the heart, an opening, bittersweet at first, and then in acceptance, a full opening to the whole experience. Each time I experience grief, it’s like I relearn the lessons of love and plumb ever deeper into the vastness of the human heart. I learn how to open fully to the whole grief process and what it has to offer.
What is your experience with grief?
And, would you rather shrink from it, or come out into the sun and reveal yourself in this space?
In the spirit of knowing that we are all teachers for each other, I encourage you to share a story of your grief experience here. Perhaps if we can dare to walk our grief stories out into the light and share them, we might all help heal each other… and open more fully to grief.
Just a thought.
Love,
Elizabeth
