It is human nature to look for and expect an ending to most situations. In grief lots of people talk about the stages of grief – developed by Elizabeth Kubler Ross. Many misguided people try to push themselves and/or others into steps in a linear fashion. Later in her life, Kubler Ross stated that people misinterpreted these steps. There is no neat, linear path to healing. If you believe that you will move through these steps, fully leaving the previous one behind as you approach the new step, I believe you will be in for a rude awakening. Grief is messy and not linear for most of us. The one thing about grief that have come to understand and believe is that it is necessary for healing. I believe we need to stop trying to create a “one size fits all” model for how people should grieve. I am sharing a few readings from the past couple of days below that prompted me to write this entry.

What grief looks and feels like for many people: