Surviving Grief

⏳  Grief Has No Clock: A Reflection on Pain, Patience, and Permission  🕯️ Quote for the Heart "Everyone can master a grief, but he that has it."   —William Shakespeare 💔 There Is No Timeline for Loss Someone once told me it takes seven years to adjust to the loss of someone close. Maybe that’s true. Maybe it takes longer. Maybe it never quite settles at all. There’s no need to apologize if grief is still a significant part of your life— not after months, not even after years. As Martha Whitmore Hickman reminds us in Healing After Loss , every grief has its own timetable. Only the person carrying it knows its true weight. 🧭 Listening to Our Own Needs We are often our own best judges in grief. Sometimes we do need a nudge if we've become too isolated. Sometimes we need a professional when the shadows grow too heavy. But the one thing we never need? Pressure from others to “move on” before we’re ready. Grief is not weakness. Grief is the evidence of deep, hol...

🕊️If You Love Me, Let Me Go Grief, Memory, and the Things That Bring Them Back Today's "Healing After Loss "  began with a powerful line:   "If you love me, let me go."  It reminded me of Olivia Newton-John's heartfelt song  "If You Love Me (Let Me Know),"  a song about love, longing, and the silent pain of feeling unloved. "Before too long, I built my world around you… If you love me, let it be. If you don't, then set me free.” Martha Hickman reflected on how we might be projecting our own needs and desires onto what we believe our loved ones would want. She suggested that it's all conjecture—our pain shaping the narrative of their absence. But I gently disagree. 🐦 Grief Is a Soundtrack, a Scent, a Spark For me, grief is more than reflection. It’s a soundtrack. A scent. A shadow. A frog on a shelf. A birdhouse in the tree. A coffee cup that’s no longer filled. These simple things bring my loved ones back to me. Not physically— ...

Living Day by Day The Present Moment The present moment is significant, not as the bridge between past and future, but by reason of its contents, contents which can fill our emptiness and become ours, if we are capable of receiving them.  -Dag Hammarskjold The Healing Journey – Embracing Grief and Finding Strength Grief is a journey that lacks a set timeline. Each day brings a different challenge, and as we continue forward, we learn to carry the weight of loss, not as a burden, but as a part of who we are. In my second video on healing after loss, I delve into how we can find strength in the process and hold on to the memories of those we have lost, allowing them to guide us through the most difficult moments. Navigating Through Grief: A Day-by-Day Approach The most difficult aspect of grief is the uncertainty. We do not always know how we will feel from one day to the next. But that is okay. Healing does not require us to have it all figured out right away. It is about taki...