For those who don’t understand grief, I am happy that you’ve never had to experience it. This isn’t to diminish how your approach to grief if you have because each person is different. But to those who say people should get over it or move on, may the words below impact you, evoking reflection.
Grief never ends. That’s right – it doesn’t end. There is no goal or expiration date. There is no timeline for when someone stops grieving. Grief can be equated to tidal currents that pull from the gravity of the earth, moon, and sun. It’s fluid, ever changing. It ebbs and flows.
Grief doesn’t end – we learn to live with it. We go about our daily lives and carry it with us, tucked away in the recesses of our soul. Like volcanic activity, it can lie dormant before erupting. The eruptions can last seconds to minutes, or hours to days.
And like oceans and volcanoes, grief is inevitable and unpredictable.
When someone has been blessed with immeasurable love, a connection indescribable in words, they grieve – forever. Despite happy times and joyous occasions, grief can arise at the most inopportune and unexpected moments. Like a wave, grief surge and recede. Grief may not be constant, but it is always with us – just waiting to erupt like a volcano.
Why am I equating grief to oceans and volcanoes? Because we are equally as volatile and powerful, and we can’t always foresee the damage and destruction that lies ahead – but we will re-build after each and every storm. It’s called living, and we need to sometimes reach deep within to find the strength to clean-up and move forward.
And as for grief – it is with us, always. We just learn to live with it.
To all those suffering and healing. This is for you.
