The Gift of Grief

Depending on our outlook and how we perceive life around us, everything could be a gift. A gift for us to see where we are still wounded when we are hurt. A gift to know greater intimacy with ourselves and others due to a challenge we must walk through. And one of life’s most intense emotions to walk through is grief. I started thinking about what grief truly was and how it has shown up for me in my life.

To truly know grief is to truly know love. We live in a culture that pushes away grief. We don’t allow ourselves to fully express and connect with our grief. But what if the gift of grief was a deeper love and connection to yourself? To others? What if grief gives you a level of appreciation for life that you couldn’t have otherwise?

Grief really does bring us to a full stop. It is meant to be felt and expressed, not pushed away. Inviting grief in and allowing yourself to be with it as much as you can, is where the healing can begin. Grief opens you up to a new reality. Life will never be the same after we move through a deep loss. We all experience grief in different ways. If we were to allow ourselves to feel grief, do we even know what that fully feels like? Think about it? When you think of something you have grieved or are grieving, where do you feel it in your body? What sensations or textures do you feel? Is there a color or image? Maybe there is a sound associated with it or what would grief sound like if you were to make a sound?

Grief deserves to be honored and felt, for it connects us to the depths of our humanity. It shapes us to live life more presently and love more deeply. What a beautiful gift of life that we could experience something so profound and transformative. If it is pushed down, it will continue to demand your recognition. Grief is that powerful of a force. 

Trust YOUR process and uprisings of grief within your body. If you are experiencing grief right now, I want you to know that you are so loved and supported. And the grief you feel is a reflection of your capacity to love. Let yourself express it, even if that means “falling apart” because when you feel shattered, grief has come to show you how big your heart is and how strong you are. Grief is asking you to slow down, to honor, and take the time to heal. No need to rush the process. Be with your grief with the utmost devotion. For when you are alongside grief, you know the richness of how precious this life truly is.

And as always, Shar(e)on Lightly