Throughout my life I’ve dealt with grief. Much less then some, more then others. Death is a part of life, no matter how much we may try to escape it and deny it’s existence. One way or another, it catches you. Maybe in a friend, a pet, a loved one. But no matter how hard we try to ignore it, this grief will come in some form. At first we may continue to deny, to believe that all of this is just a bad dream. It certainly doesn’t feel real at first! However life is real, and this denial can only last so long. Then comes the sadness. I’m sure we have all heard the saying ‘Time heals all wounds’, and this is a saying I disagree with. Rather I believe the saying should be ‘Time changes all wounds’. Often wounds leave a scar and that scar becomes a part of you. Grief is like this. It never fully goes away, but it does morph into different shapes. One day the sadness may simply be a dull ache, one that you can push through to the beautiful memories that grief tries to hide from us.
Grief, like any strong emotion, can either destroy us or help us grow. It forces us to accept our own humanity and to realize we cannot control everything in our lives. It can teach us to enjoy every moment, big or small. The value of life is never quite as clear to us as when we are grieving. As humans our natural response to grief is to shove it away, but we should rather embrace it and learn the lessons it offers.
As unpleasant, and frankly soul wrenching, as death and grief can be, the wounds they leave can strengthen and shape you as a person.
I’ve been struggling with this a lot myself lately and I find writing it out helps. I hope if anyone else sees this, it may help to bring them comfort and closure in whatever grief they are battling.
– Comment Girl
