When it comes to the topics of death, dying, grief, and loss, our society often does a poor job of creating space. We’re expected to get over it and move on, even though we may be struggling to find our footing or make sense of our lives after the loss for far longer than the initial bereavement days off of work and long after people stop checking in on us.
Grief can be difficult to work through because it is entirely compromised of uncomfortable, nonlinear emotions. We deny the loss, attempt to bargain for its return, experience rage and despair, and come to grips with the reality of the ending over and over again, in various orders, until we are able to transition into a new way of living and being after the loss. Even then, the grief may shift and take up less space, but it rarely ever goes away entirely.
And death is not the only experience that leads us to grieve. In fact, we can grieve many losses: the loss of a relationship, the loss of a job, the loss of our dreams, the loss of religion, the loss of a pet, the loss of a lifestyle, the loss of our health, and many, many more. Grief and love are opposite sides of the same coin, and anything we love, we can also grieve.
Drawing from my own experiences of loss, as well as my experiences facilitating grief groups, I would be honored to bear witness to your grief and offer the gift of presence as you experience it. Although we cannot make the pain go away, we can work together to honor your loss, engage in rituals to process it, and make meaning from the experience that will help you move through the tasks of grief and into a new season of life beyond grief.
