5 Star review of The Way Forward:
“Such beautiful and wise words. Offers insight, perspective, hope, love, encouragement...and so much more.” - KAD
The Way Forward is 33% off on Amazon and available in local bookstores.
Our universe has a powerful characteristic of ever-present change. This is visible in every layer of existence. No matter where you look, impermanence is an inescapable law. Within this river of change you can see that movement makes it possible for there to be a flow of creation and destruction, beginnings and endings – everything that arises eventually passes away.
This truth is one of the most challenging parts of being a human being. This law of impermanence makes it so that birth and death are an undeniable aspect of existence. Loss is inevitable. The bonds you develop with those you are closest to, no matter how precious, are ultimately temporary. Even if a bond lasts a lifetime, it will eventually come upon the chapter of death.
Life is inherently relational, meaning that the bonds you form deeply shape your identity and energize you to continue facing the ups and downs you come across. We thrive in small groups, and when one of our essential group members is gone, we feel that loss tremendously.
Grief can feel like gravity has increased the weight on your bones making everything more difficult or like a dense fog has descended that makes things feel unfamiliar.
No longer having the opportunity to turn to someone you can be fully vulnerable with, someone you trust and love, hurts. Losing someone you love sometimes feels like you have lost a part of yourself. It can make you feel disconnected from others and from yourself.
Living with grief, learning from it, understanding how to be with it instead of fighting it is an aspect of life that is full of lessons.
The following are 7 ways to work with grief when it arises:
Embody their best qualities. Part of the sadness you feel when you lose someone you love is because their qualities and energy go with them. They had a specific way that they shined upon those they encountered. One of the best ways to remember and honor someone’s life is to embody their best characteristics. Remember the kindness and joy they were able to give you and pass that forward to the world. It is possible to keep their great qualities alive through your own choices and behaviors. Use their life as a point of inspiration for how you would like to show up in the world.
Grief does not have a time limit. Don’t try to be efficient with your grief. Just like healing, moving through grief can be a messy process. An important thing to understand is that you can grieve for years while still living a full and enjoyable life. Letting go is not a quick process, feeling sadness is totally normal, the heaviness of loss can sit in your heart for a long time. The sadness may come up over and over again, sometimes triggered by something small, let it arise and pass away. Let yourself experience grief in an organic manner. Losing someone essential to your life is not an easy thing to overcome.