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“A MOURNING MOMENT”

We grieve change. Read those words again: WE…GRIEVE…CHANGE. Grief is not just an event. It is a series of losses blended together that unloads unbearable and indescribable amounts of pain upon mind, body, and spirit.

Grief can be ugly. It can paralyze the strongest person, it can melt the hardest heart into a pool of emotions. Grief is fluid, it flows. It can be a calm wave, or a devastating storm that beats upon a torn heart.

We grieve the change in our normal schedule, our routines change, priorities change, the future changes, dreams are changed, hope and faith change, desire and motivation changes, everything changes. Grief changes us, and we will never be the same.

But grief must not change our direction. Since birth we have always moved forward in life. There is always excitement when toddlers begin to walk, and they are urged to walk FORWARD. That direction cannot change because of grief. We cannot go backward, and we cannot remain the same.

Move forward slowly, inch by inch, step by step. We must trust others to guide and support us in this journey through unfamiliar territory.

Go through the motions even when you do not feel like it, take the first steps, do not give up. Grief is the hardest thing you have ever done in your life.

* keep names and memories alive by sharing them.

* do not rush! Go your own pace, it is different for everyone.

* we only complete our grief journey when we complete our life…and mourning softens the pathway during this journey.

* intentionally surround yourself with supportive people.

Bob Willis, author/sculptor