Grief has often been related to a harsh winter – freezing our very being – mind, body, and soul. It comes uninvited and unwelcome. We struggle to breathe, to do, to live. Winter compels the earth and the trees, flowers, some animals to rest. It stops growth, for a while, while much lies dormant. Does our grief require the same of us? Do our lives become dormant, frozen by the shock of death? Do we stop doing and just be?
Or is there more going on? Something that we, at first, do not see? Something underneath the surface, like the flowers of spring waiting to creep through the surface of the earth with a new life. Does the numbness, the agonizing sense of being lost allow for deeper growth? Does our path to spring require patience and perseverance and the courage to open up to a different way of being? The ability to allow a small opening in our being to grow an attitude of light and celebration that begins to creep slowly into our daily lives. The rebirth of a sense of hope, however brief, that we will survive and even bloom again.
Wherever you are in your grief today and tomorrow and the next days to come, please know that if you are feeling the need for support there are many options available. From the neighbor or friend who is able to listen to you with empathy, to a skilled therapist trained to understand grief, to a group that shares your loss. Contact Conley Outreach if you need help finding the support you need.
