Some Thoughts About Grief

It’s nothing like you might expect. It rips your world apart and yet, each day comes just like the ones before it. It’s brutal and unfair, and while it is experienced by all, it's also very isolating. Despite your loved ones’ best efforts, no one really knows what to say or do, and after some time, you find those eyes staring back into yours hoping that you’ll say you’re feeling better. No one tells you how uncomfortable you’ll feel talking about your grief. And no one tells you that you might feel shame for grieving when you’re expected to feel better. You might even believe that your journey with your grief is linear or that your grief is a sort of illness which you will eventually recover from with the right treatment.

It isn’t any of those things. We grieve because we love.

It’s with you always and it takes up so much space. But hopefully, with time, you’ll get used to it living inside you among all your other feelings. Grief is an unwelcome roommate who has nowhere else to go.

I’ve learned to keep my eyes open through my grief, to let the tears stream down my face no matter who might see. The only way through is through.